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Proposed elimination of arts funding

45K views 466 replies 39 participants last post by  jegreenwood 
#1 ·
Pres. Trump's 2019 budget proposal put forth today includes eliminating federal funding for 22 agencies, grant programs, and institutes. There's a full list in the referenced article. Of likely interest around here:

- The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds public television and radio stations including PBS and NPR.

- The National Endowment for the Arts, which funds American artists and projects with grants.

Thoughts?

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/poli...rams-trumps-budget-would-eliminate/ar-BBJ2Odf
 
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#430 ·
That's just an overactive imagination.

Personally, I stopped posting here at #415 and gave my reason. Plus, I'm not really interested in being involved in further deletions and lockings.

This is my last post in this thread.
 
#431 ·
There are various sorts of hidey-holes down in the catacombs. Some are very clearly labeled as "Religion" or "Politics". People of vigorous enthusiasms are welcome to post and debate there--which is where such discussions are intended to take place. The wheel keeps getting reinvented upstairs by newbies to TC, when we perfected it downstairs long ago in our wheelwrights' shops.
 
#432 ·
Why do you keep going on about moving this to the "groups"? You are out of order as the moderators have quite clearly stated that the present discussion is within the bounds of the original purpose of the thread. I have no wish to pursue the matter in any of the groups.
 
#439 ·
Martin D: "I thought I would look back in this thread to find the first reference to subsidies outside the Arts area. The member who is now complaining that the thread has gone off the rails made the one above on 23 May on page 10.

As may be seen, this post citicised the efficacy of the "free market" in providing decent infrastructure in the USA across a wide of industries, a topic that had nothing whatsoever to do with the arts."
I am unmasked (yet again!) as a sinner. Alas, I lack the strength of character to confine my political/religious commentary entirely to Groups where I and the ToS preach that they belong. Instead,"since everybody else is doing it", I join in the fray up here, while repeatedly cautioning that we really shouldn't be doing this here. I do not know what excuses others have for their actions. Perhaps there are better ones than mine.
 
#442 ·
Here’s a puzzler. On the big island in Hawaii, lava flows have now destroyed “hundreds” of homes of people incautious enough to settle on the flanks of an active volcano, one that has been erupting off and on for years. The mayor has vowed to “rebuild” using federal money, the common purse of all Americans.

Question: Should this expenditure have precedence over subsidies, from the same purse, for classical music?
 
#443 ·
Here's a puzzler. On the big island in Hawaii, lava flows have now destroyed "hundreds" of homes of people incautious enough to settle on the flanks of an active volcano, one that has been erupting off and on for years. The mayor has vowed to "rebuild" using federal money, the common purse of all Americans.

Question: Should this expenditure have precedence over subsidies, from the same purse, for classical music?
Counter Question, would this involving subsiding Renee Fleming?
 
#447 · (Edited)
“Question: Should this expenditure have precedence over subsidies, from the same purse, for classical music?”

Let’s put it this way: There will always be poverty, there will always be disasters, there will always be military expenditures and war, there will always be people who don’t think the arts are worth supporting, even by those who enjoy it every day and write about it.

But some cities manage to find some funds by planning it out in advance, having a program when there are no particular disasters happening, and it’s not always about government support; it’s about enlightened leadership related to culture values and the arts being supported as a part of national pride and the beautification of our cities, and the fact that it generates tax revenues, tourism, and an overall more inspiring environment to live in.

There’s an enlightening PBS program called “Artconomy” that explains the benefits of a city being friendly to the arts and artists. But to wait or expect the world to be in nice peaceful place with no disasters in order to do something constructive and positive is like living in a dream world. Nothing ever gets done and society becomes just about patching up the holes of disaster and dysfunction when things go wrong.

Incidentally, “Artconomy” is a perfect example of the enlightened information that’s available to people on a station that’s partly government funded. So I think the lack of at least some minimal support for the arts and more arts education in the public schools is that it really comes down to the idea that the arts not truly viewed as a part of daily life or the atmosphere of a town, city, or a country—and I couldn’t agree less with what I consider to be a very uninformed point of view. It’s the cultural values that attract one to a certain countries and places to see, and that’s capable of generating millions of dollars in revenue from certain city beautification projects and cultural exchanges with other countries. Some people are willing to stand up for these ideas and at least support public television, as limited or as imperfect as it may seem.
 
#450 ·
This thread is about national subsidies for the arts. Some here seem to think that the same as national funding for classical music. It isn’t.

In fact, if you were to subsidize the arts based on the number of people benefitting, it might be a while before you came to classical music. I’d bet that ecdysiasm would score higher.
 
#451 ·
This thread is about national subsidies for the arts. Some here seem to think that the same as national funding for classical music. It isn't.

In fact, if you were to subsidize the arts based on the number of people benefitting, it might be a while before you came to classical music. I'd bet that ecdysiasm would score higher.
Depends what you mean by "benefitting," perhaps.
 
#458 ·
The philistines in congress would be glad to stamp out all funding for the arts and public broadcasting. And I'm afraid that much of the corporate support is dwindling as well. The lion's share of the profits go to the stockholders.
 
#461 ·
I agree, eljr. Here in Syracuse we've lost both our symphony orchestra and our four decade long yearly jazz festival due to lack of corporate funding which was vital due to almost non existent government support. A major symphony organization can't survive on ticket sales alone.
 
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#463 ·
Rochester still has the RPO. I don't know their financial situation. Syracuse now has what they call Symphoria organized by the musicians but it's not like having a full concert season like we had with the former symphony that went bankrupt.
 
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#466 · (Edited)
Gotta disagree with you on the school taxes, eljr. Now property taxes is another matter. A retired couple on a fixed income who paid off a mortgage and paid taxes for 30 years should be given an exception. Especially when states are offering huge tax breaks to people like Bezos who build distribution centers the size of a golf course and pay no property taxes for 15 years. That's what going on in my county. In fact he built two of them on opposite sides of the Syracuse metro area. And I doubt he'll be funding the local arts scene with his tax savings.
 
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