5
Credit: The Sesame WorkshopA lot has changed in the world since November 1969. Richard Nixon was in the White House, the United States was in Vietnam, and the nation was a few months removed from the Moon Landing and Woodstock.
Related: Disney is on Project 2025’s List of Companies That Need to Change the Way They do Business
While a lot has changed since then, one constant has remained: Sesame Street on the Public Broadcasting Service. For the past 55 years, Sesame Street has offered children’s programming that teaches not only reading, writing, and math but also understanding, empathy, community, and compassion.
Despite generations of Americans having grown up with Sesame Street, a new Republican policy is seeking to cut funding for the children’s show, National Public Radio, and the Public Broadcasting Service.
Project 2025, a conservative plan for governing should Donald Trump win back the presidency, has outright said that it would cut the funding for shows like Sesame Street and other programs on National Public Radio and PBS programs.
What is Project 2025?
Essentially, Project 2025 is a wish list for a conservative government takeover if Donald Trump wins the White House in November. It is an outline of legislative priorities that can be accomplished without Congress, which would ultimately give the President more power.
The Heritage Foundation created the document with input from over 100 conservative organizations and former President Trump appointees. Conservatives are referring to it as a second American Revolution.
Among its proposals for the federal government would be to eliminate job protections for federal workers, allow the President to make changes in widespread areas of the government, and place most of the federal government directly under the President’s control.
It calls for slashing government investment in climate and renewable energy research and increased domestic oil production. It does not call for a nationwide ban on abortion and contraceptives but does say that pills used in abortions should be banned.
It also calls for broader government control over technology, including the banning of all pornography on the internet and moderating content on social media.
Project 2025 also wants parental controls over schools and a wider use of school voucher programs. The proposal calls for funding cuts to all Title I schools and cuts to school lunch programs for poor children.
Why ‘Sesame Street?’
Despite airing on PBS, Sesame Street is owned by the Sesame Workshop, not the network. Therefore, the Sesame Workshop receives all the royalties from selling Sesame Street-related toys and games.
Related: Supreme Court Sides With DeSantis in Punishing Disney World Cast Members
Both PBS and NPR receive federal funding for programming that Project 2025’s creators believe “leans to the left.”
NPR, Pacifica, and the other radio ventures have zero claim on an educational function (the original purpose for which they were created by President Johnson), and the percentage of on-air programming that PBS devotes to educational endeavors such as “Sesame Street” (programs that are themselves biased to the Left) is small.
Project 2025’s stated goal is to cut all federal funding for public television and radio and force shows like Sesame Street to survive independently.
While that would not be difficult for Sesame Street, which has been on Max in recent years, other PBS and NPR shows like This Old House, Cook’s Country, Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me, and All Things Considered would ultimately fail.
This move would forever alter how children view Sesame Street. With the show airing on PBS, it is open to everyone, while having the content behind a paywall on Max limits its exposure.
For 55 years, Sesame Street has taught generations of children how to navigate the world, but now, that is all being threatened. And who really wants to live in a world without Sesame Street?
What is your favorite memory of ‘Sesame Street?’