As someone deeply concerned about institutional corruption, much has been refreshing about Elon Musk’s merry band of DOGE barbarians laying waste to dubious federal programs and expenditures. Sure, the cuts are mainly symbolic window dressing that don’t particularly affect the government’s dire fiscal trajectory, but it’s the principle of the thing: over the years, endless billions of taxpayers’ hard-earned money have been squandered on slush funds subsidizing culture wars and comfortable sinecures for plugged-in professional progressives. That status quo cannot continue.

And now, in the heat of the fray, many “starve the beast” reformers have set their sights on defunding the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, established in 1967. In recent years, it has provided over $500 million annually to help sustain PBS and NPR stations across the country. I understand how they feel. But seeing that I was practically raised by PBS, in my view, destroying it would not just be a mistake but a missed opportunity.