[Note: Here's an excerpt from a Chicago Tribune op-ed for anyone interested in the arts as fundamental to our democratic society.]
Why arts funding should be in stimulus
By Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, February 9, 2009In the recent debate over the Barack Obama administration’s economic recovery bill, proposals to spend government money on the arts have become poster children for pork.
“The National Endowment for the Arts,” wrote sarcastic editorialists at the National Review last week, “is in line for $50 million, increasing its total budget by a third. The unemployed can fill their days attending abstract-film festivals and sitar concerts.”
In the Senate, an amendment sponsored by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) lumped museums, theaters and arts centers (a terrifyingly vague term) with such frippery as casinos, golf courses and swimming pools as recipients who must be stopped from getting any of this funding. The amendment passed 73-24 on Friday, with many Democrats voting in the majority.
It is time for the American arts community to confront its stunning political ineptitude. It has arrived at a place where there seems to be no one to make its case; no one, at least, free from the taint of self-interest …
Tags: Arts & Culture, Democracy, funding, philanthropy
