Khora

From the New York Times...

ARTS | October 30, 2009
ArtsBeat: Congress Approves Budget Increase for Arts and Humanities Endowments

By Robin Pogrebin
The House and Senate on Thursday passed a budget increase for the National Endowment for the Arts and for the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Here is the link:
Congress Approves Budget Increase for Arts and Humanities Endowments - ArtsBeat Blog - NYTimes.com

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Sandy

"Conventional Wisdom" should not be applied to unconventional thinking.

ecarroll

Sandy,

Well, this as a step in the right direction and perhaps symbolic as such. A glimmer of light, as you've said.

Musicians are doing their part, joined (imagine!) by some conductors Phila. Orchestra musicians agree to cuts | Philadelphia Inquirer | 05/29/2009

I think that I've read that the Philadelphia Orchestra's deficit has grown tremendously since the Spring, however. Will the NEA help them (and others)?

Best,
EC

Brekelefuw

In Canada, they just announced a few weeks ago that they are removing major parts of the recording grants from the Canada Council of the Arts. Many albums recorded with this grant win Juno's (Canada's grammy) and many other awards. I know many people who have used this grant and others the council provides.
Our Prime Minister doesn't think the arts are at all important, and has voiced this publicly.

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jcstites

Still doesn't seem like much of a budget when you think of all the people it helps.


One of the comments on the article -

"1 F-22 Fighter Jet costs $140 million. All the Federal Art Funding for the country costs $167million. In my opinion we would be better off if we built 3 fewer Fighter Jets and shifted that money to supporting arts organizations across the country."

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Khora

I know it is just a small drop in the bucket, but at least funding wasn't cut, which is more than can be said at the state level for much of the country. As I said, just a glimmer of light - but better than nothing, at least in my opinion, even if it is at this time just a token.

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Sandy

"Conventional Wisdom" should not be applied to unconventional thinking.

operagost

It's token when you compare it to the billions that were used to take over car companies and pump up special interests, but it's still big money. Corporations and individuals contribute far more to the arts, and maybe that's the way it should be. Also keep in mind that the NEA received $50 million in stimulus funds.

Unfortunately, I can't support these funds because I believe the government doesn't even have authority to spend them. The only reference to Congress supporting the arts in the Constitution involves copyrights. In addition, when you allow the government to pay for something (with our tax money, of course), you give it tacit authority. Obama's people in the Office of Public Engagement and Serve.gov (no, that's not TOO much redundant bureaucracy) have been pressuring the NEA to use its stimulus funds to propagan... I mean promote Obama's public "service" agenda.

The government is like a vampire... don't invite it in, or it won't leave until it's sucked you dry.

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ChaseFan

Well said.

There are too many people who say
"The government should give us money to support the arts".

But where does the government get that money?
Government takes the money from us in the form of taxes,
then the government takes its large "cut" to cover its administrative costs,
then the government sends the remainder of the money back to us.

That is not only inefficient,
it is also unConstitutional as the above poster noted.

When the government started the unConstitutional Department of Education, the government then started dictating what could and could not be taught in the schools.
Prayer not allowed in schools?
The Constitution shows that it is Federal government that is not allowed in schools.

Recently the head of the National Endowment for the Arts was quoted as saying that he was going to use his department to push Obama's policies,
which makes that department a propaganda tool.

http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/pc...ans-statement/

NEA - MediaMythBusters

If you want the National Endowment for the Arts to have more money,
then send them a personal check from your money.

ecarroll

TMers,

I'll keep this thread active for now but close it if we disintegrate into partisan politics.

Thanks,
EC

ChaseFan

When your post endorsed the idea of government-funded arts,
you were making an inherently political statement,
even if you did not realize it at the time.
At a time when the National Endowment for the Arts is embroiled in a political scandal as noted in the links I provided.

If you want to delete the thread, fine.
But there is absolutely no way that a person can address the subject of the original post in a non-political way because the subject inherently is political.