That would probably be useful information in the debate on whether Congress should approve President Trump’s rescission request this month. For some reason, reporters seem allergic to sharing this information with their audience.

They routinely report that the recission request involves an appropriation of $535 million a year. This number means almost nothing to everyone that sees and hears it. Furthermore, the reporters all know that it means almost nothing to the vast majority of their audience. But they report it anyhow, as though it is part of a stupid fraternity ritual.

It would take about ten seconds to report the recission request as a share of the $7.3 trillion projected budget for 2026. Telling audiences that this sum comes to less than 0.008 percent of projected spending would immediately give almost everyone a clear idea of the sum involved.

Many people may still not like public broadcasting and would rather not see the government spend the money. But by telling people that the money involved was less than 0.008 percent of spending, they would know that this will not mean a big tax rebate or provide the funding for universal Medicare. 

For some reason, reporters and their editors insist on budget reporting that provides little or no information to their audience. Explanations are welcome.