The news reporters who have always been at the White House to report what is going on in Washington, D.C. may soon have to start paying to gain access to the press conference room.

This is something that is completely unheard of when it comes to the White House and allowing freedom of the press. I guess freedom isn’t free anymore.

Starting Monday, the White House’s press office said it will start charging journalists for coronavirus tests, which are required for anyone entering the White House grounds.

The proposed cost for each test: $170.

With dozens of journalists at the White House each day, the fees could add up to tens of thousands of dollars flowing from newsrooms, many of them small and cash-strapped, into government coffers.

Until now, the cost of testing has been borne by the White House. But officials there contend that the cost of maintaining the testing regime for nearly a year has strained its budget. So it wants to shift the burden onto news organizations: No test, no entry to the White House.

The plan has alarmed the White House Correspondents’ Association, which represents reporters in issues affecting the presidential press corps. The organization has objected to the proposal because of the financial burden it would impose on news organizations, especially smaller ones for whom a $170 daily fee would be onerous.

This is something that really aggravates me in general. All of this tacking on ridiculous fees for things like this. Are we supposed to believe that a test costs $170? That’s absurd.

I’m not someone who wants a lot of interference from the government, but we need a better system in place to prevent such astronomically inflated prices for simple things. For example, when we had our son, our bill from the hospital was $75,000. There is no way that we racked up $75,000 in charges unless everything is incredibly inflated.

Sources:
Washington Post