Americans Hate Paying for Newspapers by Any Means, but Especially Through Taxes

A new survey conducted by Rasmussen Reports reveals that Americans, who have already shown they’re not too keen on buying newspapers on the open market, would also prefer not to sponsor them through taxes on their cell-phone use, on their computer purchases, or on Web-based news aggregators like the Drudge Report.

The Rasmussen poll, which consulted 1,000 adults on June 6 and 7, reveals that 84% of Americans oppose a Federal Trade Commission proposal to add a 3% tax to their cell-phone bills to prop up the newspaper industry. Seventy-four percent are against taxes on online aggregators, and 76% would rather not pay more for Kindles, iPads and the like in the name of supporting journalism through government intervention. The favorable ratings on these ideas are nigh-vanishingly small: 10% for the phone-bill tax, 18% for website taxes and 16% for taxes on fancy gizmos.

Similarly, sympathy for unemployed journalists apparently does not outweigh opposition to taxes:

Seventy-one percent (71%) oppose the creation of a taxpayer-funded program that would hire and pay young reporters to work for newspapers around the country. Fourteen percent (14%) support such a program, while 15% are undecided.

Looks like the nation is a long way off from endorsing the socialization of the American newspaper industry. We eagerly await a survey of public opinion regarding government support of New York media trade blogs; we’ve always felt we had the makings of excellent public servants.

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