Hard news at a high price

Whenever money gets tight in Indiana, educational programs are the first to get the ax. Even higher education feels the squeeze on a regular basis, and last week, Indiana government wrapped its fingers around yet another vitally important educational resource -- daily newspapers. \nThe Indiana House Environmental Affairs Committee endorsed a bill that would allow the government to collect $2 on every metric ton of paper used by daily papers with a circulation of over 12,500. They would also impose a lesser fee on newspapers from other states that are printed and circulated in Indiana. \nThe circulation of the IDS is more than 17,000. Indianapolis Star circulation is more than 267,000. This means that the IDS would have to pay the government anywhere from $3,000 to $4,000 per year. The Indy Star would have to pay $90,000, according to the Associated Press.\nThe AP further reported that Rep. Richard Mangus (R-Lakeville) said newspapers should pay for the impact they have on the environment. Mangus said newspapers clog landfills and the advertising inserts are among the hardest things to recycle.\nAlthough it is a fact that newspapers do take a certain toll on the environment, the impact that newspapers have on the earth is marginal compared to other industries. Newspapers across the country make huge efforts to recycle and print on recycled paper. Hoosier State Press Association Lobbyist Steve Key told the Associated Press that newspaper waste makes up only 4 percent of total waste in landfills.\n"It has nothing to do with recycling, it has nothing to do with the environment. It has everything to do with funding pet projects," Herald-Times Publisher Mayer Maloney told the AP. "I think it's unfair and ludicrous."\nMoney generated from the proposed fee would go to support clean-water programs, reimburse counties for taxes they cannot collect on government-owned property, and to fund 4-H scholarships.\nIt is great that the government is concerned with the environment, and it is certainly something newspapers should be constantly aware of. But it is frustrating that newspapers are going to be the ones to bear the brunt of the fund-raising effort. Taxing newspapers doesn't just hurt the organization, it damages the entire community. Having a free, cheap press is important to the daily education of every reader. It is a tool many people use on a daily basis to make sense of the world around them. Why is it that every time the government needs to find a little extra revenue, they find an educational resource to clamp down on? \nThe thousands of dollars that newspapers would have to pay would have to come from somewhere. Whether it would come in the form of increased subscription price or staff layoffs is uncertain. But what is certain is that the costs of this tax outweigh the benefits for everyone.\n-- Amy Orringer for the Editorial Board