The purpose of the "jazz is America's classical music" hustle, as David Baker pointed out 40 years ago, is to get our hands on some of that grant $ that has been going to symphonies, operas, classical-music schools, such. Nothing wrong with that in principle -- it's terrible that some great artists struggled (or were even down and out) for years, decades. That previous sentence includes many of my favorite bop-era Blue Note, Prestige, Savoy, Riverside, etc. artists. Nowadays it's great that some other great artists get enough $ to be financially secure for the rest of their lives, and only need to create.
What's wrong with "jazz is America's classical music" is overkill -- Larry is so right, these satirists are spitting out mommy's mouthfuls. Of course jazz and classical music are two separate traditions, each with its own unique integrity. Some of the classical music I hear on the radio is utter garbage, I seldom hear jazz that stoops so low.