Republicans want to eliminate the NEA.- Page 2

[Eris0303]

Posted: 1/26/11 at 9:03pm

I found out that Chris Smith, my Congressman, is not on the committee but I couldn't find out where he stands on the issue.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 1/27/11 at 8:51am

I can think of one thing that was devastated by the significant pulling of federal funds under far-right pressure: One of the best things to hit television in the eighties, AMERICAN PLAYHOUSE. Among their acheivements:

Either studio-filmed or live presentations of popular theatre productions, including THE GRAPES OF WRATH, THE HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES, PAINTING CHURCHES, THE FIFTH OF JULY, and the live productions of SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE and INTO THE WOODS. Not to mention some indie theatrical offerings such as STAND AND DELIVER, LONGTIME COMPANION, SAFE, SWOON, SIMPLE MEN, TESTAMENT, EL NORTE and SMOOTH TALK.

But alas, they also produced the first TALES OF THE CITY miniseries in 1993. Never mind that it joins ROOTS and I, CLAUDIUS as one of the best miniseries' ever, it was "controversial" (Read: GAY) and people like Goth, ever ready to stick it to PBS any petty way they can, convinced federal lawmakers to cut funding. Never mind that TALES was a ratings bonanza and beloved by many, AMERICAN PLAYHOUSE and PBS in general was hit extremely hard and AP limped along for only a couple of years before finally ending. One of their last presentations was the filmed version of Lapine/Sondheim's PASSION. It's death was one of the great triumphs of conservatism in the nineties, and PBS has been increasingly neutered ever since.

So don't whistle the complacent tune of "Oh, well. It won't make any difference...let them do it". This DOES have dire ramifications for all of the arts.

Updated On: 1/27/11 at 08:51 AM

[Gothampc]

Posted: 1/27/11 at 9:45am

"Never mind that it joins ROOTS and I, CLAUDIUS as one of the best miniseries' ever, it was "controversial" (Read: GAY) and people like Goth, ever ready to stick it to PBS any petty way they can, convinced federal lawmakers to cut funding."

So many things wrong with your post.

Tales of the City was not controversial because it was gay. It was controversial because it portrayed the promiscuous sex of the pre-AIDS 1970s. I saw the original broadcast and they ran a disclaimer saying something to the effect of "This portrays a time in history when things were different." PBS had already run shows featuring gay characters prior to TOTC.

Perhaps if the NEA had supported more mainstream work like American Playhouse and less controversial stuff like a crucifix in a jar of urine, then there wouldn't be such an uproar. You can't expect taxpayers to pay for every half-brained "artiste" that comes along. Conservatives were in an uproar because they weren't seeing anything targeted for them.

Finally, the question has to be asked: if these programs couldn't find benefactors or private support, why should the taxpayer fund them? Part of the problem seems to be that they were extremely costly and nobody bothered to take a look at their cost. We've discussed on this board several times about how expensive a Broadway show is to film. If the unions are not going to make financial deals for the broader good of getting the work to a wider audience, why should the taxpayer?

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 1/27/11 at 10:28am

Ah, yes. The "I'm spending so much on the arts, don't take my money!" fear factor. Some dated, but still vital information for you.

By the way, another "artiste" who used piss in his work: Picasso. Guess we better snuff him out as well.

OTHER MAJOR SPENDING BY THE "PLEASE DON'T TAKE MY MONEY FOR THOSE DEGENERATE ARTISTS" TAXPAYERS (Circa 2003):

The three failed launches of satellites from Titan IV rockets in the 8.5 months before June 1999 totaled $3,000,000,000 in losses, an amount that could have funded the NEA for nearly ONE THIRD OF A CENTURY (AP & Denver Post 5/5/1999)

The $40,000,000 settlement made to the Italian victims of the ski gondola killed by US flier's jockeying could have funded the NEA for more than HALF A YEAR (NPR Morning Edition 3/24/99)

On March 20,1999, The AP (read in the Denver Post) reported that The US Senate had voted to grant hog farmers an added $250,000,000 in aid to help them weather a free-market drop in prices. Such a subsidy could have matched our annulal NEA appropriation for TWO AND A HALF YEARS.

The $2.2 billion in aid sent to Central American countries recovering from a hurricane could have funded our own National Endowment for the Arts for TWENTY TWO YEARS

The $2.2 billion cash infusion made to keep Amtrack afloat in 1997 could also have paid for TWENTY TWO YEARS of the cost-effective NEA. (Troy Record 3-10-99)

In 1998, a BI Bomber crashed into Kentucky farm because of a faulty cockpit panel installation. The $200,000,000 loss could have paid for TWO FULL YEARS of cultural funding

In 1999, the foreign aid we sent to Colombia, at $289 million, could have been spent to fund THREE YEARS of cultural enterprises in The United States (Denver Post 12/10/9

The $160 Million in tax money that will be going to clean up the Summitville Mine could pay for NEA operation for ONE AND A HALF YEARS! Rocky Mountain News 12/18/98

The proposal to spend $289 million in aid to Colombia could have funded art for Americans for nearly THREE YEARS. Denver Post 12/10/98

"B1B bomber crashes into Kentucky farm because of a faulty cockpit panel installation". Cost: $200 million, enough to have funded The NEA for TWO FULL YEARS.

According to newscaster, John Stossel [5/26/1998] we are spending $100 million A DAY on our war on drugs. At that rate, one year in this "war" could have funded the NEA for THREE AND TWO THIRDS CENTURIES.

The $3 Billion line of credit we have extended to Indonesia could have funded America's NEA for THIRTY YEARS! Boulder Daily Camera 11-2-97

According to The Washington Post [10-18-97], the defense construction bill currently proposed, includes $1 BILLION in pork spending. That money could have funded The NEA for A DECADE.

The $335 BILLION to be spent in a Pentagon plan to upgrade 8499 aircraft [10-14-97 Knight-Ridder] could fund The NEA for over THREE THOUSAND YEARS!

The $5 BILLION to be spent on Minuteman missle modernization could fund the NEA for HALF A CENTURY!
5-9-97 Denver Post.

The $12.3 BILLION that we anticipated spending on foreign aid in 1998 could have funded America's NEA for over ONE HUNDRED TWENTY YEARS. AP 9-5-97

The Pentagon estimates that the contrivercial NATO expansion will cost $27-35 BILLION. That figure could fund The NEA for TWO TO THREE CENTURIES. Boulder Daily Camera 10-22-97

The $194 Million in Federal funding going to 300 farmers in just one Utah County for the Diamond Fork project (ABC News 6/4/1997) could pay for the NEA FOR ALMOST TWO YEARS

In a speech on the House floor in June of 1997, Rep. Musgrave lamented that we have spent $20 BILLION on the space station "without having sent a single bolt or nut into space". He could have added that this money would have been enough to have funded the NEA FOR MORE THAN TWO CENTURIES.

The cost of cleaning up the nuclear mess left at Colorado's Rocky Flats in Colorado (Denver Post 6/8/1997) may range to $8 BILLION, enough to have paid for the NEA for more than EIGHTY YEARS.

While many in Congress say there are not enough funds to support funding the arts, we have proposed spending $12.3 BILLION for FOREIGN aid projects. These funds could fund the NEA for the next ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY THREE YEARS!

Funding of foreign aid to just Israel and Egypt at $5.1 BILLION would be an amount sufficient for funding the NEA FOR MORE THAN HALF A CENTURY!

The $5 BILLION proposed (Denver Post 5/9/1997)for minuteman missile modernization in peacetime could fund our national arts programs for HALF A CENTURY!

The $5 BILLION in Pork spending (Sen. John McKain on C-Span 7/16/97) in the House Defense Appropriations Bill could fund the NEA at current levels for HALF A CENTURY!

Smoking is responsible for $50 billion in health costs to American society each year. If Americans had this money to spend on the arts, they could fund the NEA FOR THE NEXT FIVE THOUSAND YEARS (Senator Harkin Senate floor 7/23/1997)

and yet in 1996 we subsidized tobacco farmers to the tune of $97 million, enough to fund the NEA FOR A WHOLE YEAR. (Senator Durbin on the Senate floor 7/23/1997)

At $785 Million, the House' plan for crop subsidies for 1998 could fund the NEA for almost EIGHT YEARS

When the House approved purchase of 9 B2 Bombers that The Defense Dept. did not even ask for (1998 Defense spending bill), the combined cost of $10.8 Billion could fund the NEA FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY! (House debate 7/97)

Fixing the IRS' "Year 2000" computer programming problem, could have funded the NEA FOR FOUR DECADES!


Add another FOUR DECADES that the NEA could have been funded with the funds used to develop an IRS computer program that never worked! ($4 billion, Denver Post 2/10/1997)


The proposed federal anti-drug budget for 1998 could have funded the NEA FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY AND A HALF! ($16 billion)


The damage to taxpayer's pocketbooks through sexual harrassment in the military at an estimated $1 billion per year (San Antonio Express News 2/97) could fund the NEA FOR MORE THAN TEN YEARS!


Colorado's Las Animas-La Plata water project designed to help Native Americans, will cost an estimated $710 Million (Denver Post, 2/2/1997) The funds will help honor our obligation to help Native Americans preserve their heritage. The NEA, designed to help preserve our cultural heritage would be able to fund MORE THAN SEVEN YEARS OF ARTS PROJECTS


So-called "Demonstration highway projects" also known as "porkbarrel projects", funded at a rate of $4 billion a year (Denver Post 2/2/1997) could fund the NEA FOR MORE THAN FOUR DECADES!


The damage to taxpayers caused by drug use at an estimated $70 billion dollars yearly could pay for NEA funding for more than SEVEN CENTURIES! Of course there is ample evidence of the arts as an effective therapudic element.


February, 1997's spy satelite launch cost taxpayers $500 million, enough to have funded the NEA FOR HALF A DECADE


A single year's interest on our national debt could pay for THREE THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED YEARS OF NATIONAL ARTS FUNDING at the current rate ($344 billion - NY Times 1/30/97)


The shipping costs alone for Desert Storm could have funded the NEA FOR MORE THAN A FULL CENTURY ($10 billion).


The money spent fighting Desert Storm could have funded the NEA FOR MORE THAN SEVEN HUNDRED YEARS ($70 billion).


1994 federal and state tax breaks granted to the New York Mercantile Exchange could have paid for TWO YEARS of NEA funding! ($183.9 million. Reported in 1/97)


Soft money alone spent on the 1996 presidential race could have funded the NEA for TWO AND A HALF YEARS! (NY Times 1/30/97 $263 million)


Money budgeted for spending on world family planning between March and Sept. 1997 could pay for TWO YEARS of national arts funding back home! ($215 million, reported 1/31/1997)


The cost of current plans for building new generations of submarines and fighters could fund the NEA for ONE AND A HALF MILLENNIA!

The first of the two Government shutdowns (1996) in the battle between the parties and the branches of Gov, could have funded the NEA for EIGHT YEARS!

Flood zone property guarantees for those insisting on building their homes in flood planes could fund the NEA for TWENTY-FIVE CENTURIES ($250 Billion: Wall Street Journal 8/16/1995).

When Orange County went under financially, the amount of taxpayer dollars it owed creditors could have funded the NEA for SEVENTEEN YEARS! ($1.7bil)

1995's Kansas wheat subsidy would fund the NEA for THREE YEARS, 3 MONTHS!

1994 Congressional campaigns could have funded the NEA for A DECADE!

The cost of ONE B2 Bomber could fund the NEA for TWO DECADES!

The proposed INCREASE by Congress in 1997 Defense spending over the President's budget for 1997 would fund the NEA for A CENTURY AND A QUARTER ($12.4b proposed in May 1996)

Denver's New Airport costs could have funded the NEA for HALF A CENTURY!

Between 1989 and 1995, taxpayers paid subsidies of over $200 million to restore flood damaged recreational facilities such as golf courses and marinas. These funds could have funded the NEA FOR MORE THAN TWO YEARS!

Taxpayer spending for Denver Broncos' new proposed stadium could fund the NEA nationally for TWO YEARS ($180m)

New Prison Construction Proposals in 1995 could fund the arts for A FULL CENTURY!

The Amount of money our Gov. spent on Psychics to "help" the military could have funded the NEA for TWO AND A HALF MONTHS!

Agriculture grants in 1995 could fund the NEA for ONE AND A HALF CENTURIES!

Agriculture EXPORT grants in 1995 could fund the NEA for TWO CENTURIES!

The tax revenue lost in 1995 from Billionaires renouncing citizenship could support the NEA for THREE AND A HALF YEARS!

Just to place things in perspective, a single year of Defense Spending (based on the 1997 proposal by Congress) at at $266.7 Billion, could fund the arts for TWO THOUSAND, SIX HUNDRED NINETY FOUR YEARSat current levels!

Boston's new Big Dig "tunnel to the airport", at an estimated cost of $10 Billion could fund the NEA for MORE THAN A CENTURY!

The cost to taxpayers of Independant Counsel Investigators in the decade leading to 1996, at $100 million, could have funded the NEA FOR MORE THAN A FULL YEAR

Between 1992 & 1994, Government subsidy of logging, cost tax payers $1 Billion, enough to have paid for the NEA FOR MORE THAN A FULL DECADE

At a time when Congressmen warn that there is no money for the arts it proposed an increase in defense spending for 1996 that could have funded the NEA for FOUR DECADES!

In peacetime Congress proposed, in 1996, an increase in defense spending over the President's proposal that could have funded the NEA for A FULL CENTURY!

In 1995, a single aircraft carrier cost $440 million each year to operate, enough to have funded the entire national NEA subsidy for MORE THAN FOUR YEARS

The cost of a single aircraft carrier, at $4.5 Billion in 1995, could fund the NEA ALMOST HALF A CENTURY!

[sowren1020]

Posted: 1/27/11 at 11:38am

BorstalBoy, Thank you. It's seeing the real numbers and what they purchase and don't purchase that's the real wake up. I wish every newspaper would print your posting.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 1/27/11 at 12:21pm

I'm the first to condemn several of the items on BB's list. That type of waste should not exist.

However, the expenses need to be analyzed. The job of the federal government is to protect the citizens of the US. It has not been tasked with making sure they have cultural benefits. So expenses in the protection category will always trump other types of expenses.

The federal government really could turn culture issues over to the states in which case most arts funding would be cut permanently. For example, California's a mess. If it weren't for the others states paying their culture bills, California would have nothing.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 1/27/11 at 3:12pm

Ah yes...the Republican USA: Unincorporated States of America.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 1/27/11 at 8:52pm

"Conservatives were in an uproar because they weren't seeing anything targeted for them."

Can anyone describe for me what "conservative art" is? Or name a great conservative artist?

[jasonf]

Posted: 1/27/11 at 8:53pm

Sure - Glen Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin.

Oh wait, you didn't mean bulls*** artist, did you?

[Eris0303]

Posted: 2/13/11 at 12:38pm

The vote is this week so if you haven't called your representatives to let them know how you feel now is the time.

Like many other people on this board I have been posting and talking about this issue for some time now. Facebook, twitter, other message boards but so many people don't seem to care.

But now the producer of Celtic Thunder has gotten involved and wow what a difference I've seen. All the fans have been posting and emailing. It's crazy. No matter how you feel about CT - we need more voices raised over this.

[lull89]

Posted: 2/13/11 at 4:25pm

Howard Sherman of the American Theatre Wing has been tweeting this link to create a letter that you can automatically send to all your representatives. It takes 2 minutes, and is very important!
Advocate for the Arts

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 2/13/11 at 6:31pm

Sent my emails...I love it!

[Eris0303]

Posted: 2/13/11 at 8:03pm

I sent mine and I passed the url around. Thanks for sharing this.

[mikey2573]

Posted: 2/13/11 at 10:06pm

You are very close to hitting the nail right on the head GotHamPC. The problem with the NEA is that nowhere in the US Constitution does the federal government have the power to tax US citizens in order to fund the arts. The NEA, like so many other things the federal government does, is completely and utterly UNCONSTITUTIONAL!!!

[Eris0303]

Posted: 2/14/11 at 7:43pm

I called Chris Smith's office today. There weren't numbers listed for my other two reps - only email forms.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 2/14/11 at 7:50pm

Did anyone else see this?

Save the Marching Bands but Kill Public Broadcasting?

Our government spends $430 million a year on public broadcasting...less than the $500 million that (according to the Washington Post) it spends each year for marching bands in our military. With our current frenzy to cut the fat out of government, nothing is sacred—except, apparently, non-essential expenses for the military. This puts marching bands on solid financial footing, while public broadcasting is facing the budget ax.

I’m certainly not anti-band. I actually transferred universities in order to play in a top notch marching band. (In fact, every thirty years or so, I get out the old sousaphone to channel John Phillip Sousa.) But I believe non-commercial media that respects the electorate’s intelligence, assumes an attention span, and can produce content with no regard to advertiser interests is important to the fabric of our society and to the strength of our democracy.

Of course, I am part of public broadcasting. I produce radio and television shows that air across the nation on public broadcasting stations. While I could charge stations to air the shows I produce, I'd rather offer my TV and radio programs to the system for free (though, of course, my business benefits from the exposure I get). Therefore, I fund my own shows, then try to get underwriting from corporations (such as American Airlines, to whom I am grateful). My underwriters support my work, but do not dictate content. This allows me to introduce my viewers and listeners to the world I actually experience, rather than a version of the world shaped by the need to sell something. On TV, I can take viewers inside Iran to talk with everyday people, or to the Swiss Alps to celebrate Christmas, without wondering, “Will this offend advertisers?” On the radio, I can talk to the drug czar of Portugal about innovative drug policies, or to a gay activist in Lebanon, without sheltering our audience from thoughts that might get them out of their comfort zone.

But the value of public broadcasting in our society is much more important than being able to enjoy travel shows that aren’t shills for the mainstream tourism industry. Public broadcasting subsidizes news that is less exciting, but more insightful—produced by journalists rather than entertainers… pursuing the truth, rather than advertising. Public television makes possible non-commercial children’s programming that is not shaped by people who sell our kids toys. And public broadcasting keeps culture alive even when it is not a commercial hit. Rather than lowering our society’s intellectual bar, it challenges us to be engaged. Public broadcasting inspires America to be smart. Of course, some will say, “leave it to the marketplace.” But that’s just the point: Government subsidized broadcasting makes possible media outside the marketplace and our society needs that for its own good.

Our society spends one-2,000th of a trillion dollars on providing the seed funds to make non-commercial broadcasting possible in our otherwise very commercial world. Public broadcasting requires much more money than that, which it gets from its audience through contributions and from corporate citizens through underwriting. Government funding is only about a tenth of what it takes to run public broadcasting in our country, but it enables this slice of our culture to exist. Does the American public—which generates $13 trillion of wealth each year—understand the cost to our society of sacrificing public broadcasting (to save less than $2 per citizen) in the name of fiscal restraint? (To learn more visit www.170millionamericans.org. To make a difference, contact your congressperson.)

I believe cutting government funding for public broadcasting would result in huge costs to our society—even to people who find PBS or NPR threatening and annoying. You can make a very good case that, considering the complex and unprecedented challenges facing our nation today, programming like Sesame Street, All Things Considered, and public broadcasting's trademark brand of quality independent journalism are actually important to our national security interests. Yes, marching bands can stir our troops to valor. But shouldn’t we find the resources, even in challenging economic times, to stir our minds to action as well?
Rick Steves

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 2/18/11 at 9:29am

The budget came out and yes they want to zero out money for both the NEA and NPR
Please sign the petition

[A Director]

Posted: 2/18/11 at 5:01pm

mikey2573 - The Constitution doesn't say anything about women voting or people of color voting. Do you want to get rid of those things too?

[Eris0303]

Posted: 2/19/11 at 1:57pm

This doesn't mention PBS or NEA by name but it still makes me a little nervous
House Passes Sweeping Cuts to Domestic Programs

Updated On: 2/19/11 at 01:57 PM

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 2/19/11 at 9:13pm

Your money won't pay for the arts, but it will pay for this

[Eris0303]

Posted: 2/19/11 at 9:51pm

I don't follow NASCAR so I had no idea that the Army sponsored a car.