Mainstream media receives millions of taxpayer dollars via Obamacare slush fund

Wednesday, April 20, 2011 by: Jonathan Benson, staff writer
Tags: Obamacare, slush fund, health news

(NaturalNews) If you have to be convinced that Obamacare was not created with the best interests of average Americans in mind, consider the fact that the government health care bill has allocated a $5 billion "slush fund" to be distributed specifically to companies, states, labor unions, and media outlets hand-selected by the Obama Administration. And nearly a million-and-a-half dollars from this fund have already been given to both The Washington Post and CBS Corporation to use for their early retirement programs.

The "Early Retiree Reinsurance Program" (ERRP) is said to have been created for the purpose of helping "participating employment-based plans" cover a portion of the costs involved with employees who retire early. But based on how the money has been distributed thus far, the fund appears to be nothing more than a payoff slush fund that both rewards supporters of Obamacare with cash, and encourages those in influential roles to continue supporting the health care scheme.

"It is fine with me if they continue covering the Obamacare debate," said Rep. Marsha Blackburn, Republican of Tennessee, concerning the news media receiving Obamacare payoffs, in an e-mail to The Daily Caller. "When NBC used to cover energy issues, they identified themselves as a subsidiary of General Electric. CBS and Washington Post just have to disclose that they are subsidiaries of the Obama Administration."

While the media outlets receiving the funding have largely denied that the payoffs are of any concern, not everyone is convinced. After all, will either news source have anything honest and unbiased to say concerning Obamacare since they are receiving funding directly from it?

Besides CBS and The Washington Post, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union has received more than $206 million from the program, AT&T has received more than $140 million, Verizon has raked in more than $91 million, and General Electric has gotten more than $36 million. Various other unions, including the Teamsters, the United Mine Workers, the United Food and Commercial Workers, and the AFL-CIO, have also received portions as well.

Sources for this story include:

http://dailycaller.com/2011/04/06/washington...