“True to form, Congress has loaded the [bill] with hundreds of billions in wasteful spending. The bill includes…$50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts…[it’s] just old-fashioned waste.” (Op-ed in the Indianapolis Star)
“The National Endowment for the Arts would get $50 million for new exhibits to deem America racist and sexist.” (Op-ed in the Norwich Bulletin)
“The National Endowment for the Arts, for example, 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.” (National Review editorial)
With NEA funding being considered as part of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009, these are a few of the examples of negative press identified by the non-profit organization Americans for the Arts.
Americans for the Arts has asked its supporters to “tell your local media that the arts need support in national economic recovery efforts.” What do you think? Should arts funding be part of the recovery package? Is there an anti-arts bias in the media? Leave a comment and let us know.
Update 2/7: Yesterday the Senate approved an amendment to the economic recovery bill that reads, “None of the amounts appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used for any casino or other gambling establishment, aquarium, zoo, golf course, swimming pool, stadium, community park, museum, theater, art center, and highway beautification project.” Among the senators voting in support of the amendment was Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).
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