Current Affairs Donald Trump POS: Judgement cometh and that right soon

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mezzrow said:
First some personal background.

Having spent lots of effort at one point playing the game to get money out of the local arts council for our own 401c3 org, my impression is that it will affect arts administrators a lot more than the actual artists. We found that we provide so much actual music to the community for so little cash (the players, conductors, everyone are volunteers) and we always play for free (though we accept donations) that it was a labor sink to do all the paperwork for grants when our overall outlay didn't really warrant the effort.

We didn't process enough money for it to pay for us because we don't have actual paid employees and the associated expenses. If we did, it would be different. The money we were all chasing basically went to pay for the office staff and admins to process the required paperwork and regulatory information, as well as marketing and administering their organizations. Not that the money from the NEA doesn't do some good work, but there is so much additional overhead by the time everything gets processed through the government that it would be better spent by the folks that consume the art directly on the arts.

That said, though...

I think it's a political mistake by Trump and his advisors, but we'll see what happens. The fact that the NEA has been used as a club in the culture wars for the past forty years in the US is why this is happening. The GOP lost that war long ago, and needs to move on.

Here's an example of the art you can get out of volunteers for nothing. The soloist got paid, but nobody else did. The folks with the hall sponsored us gratis to bring good music to a suburban area with a nice concert hall but not much traffic (building future audience) or much to present to the public yet. We got a couple thousand folks, mainly school kids and their parents who never had gone to a formal concert before. We partnered with the local school music programs to recruit an audience of their students and made admission to the concert free. You can do a lot without directly involving govt or some agency.

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Gotta say, I'm having trouble reconciling the two ideas in your thread. What does volunteerism (which you seem to encourage) have to do with cutting the NEA (which you seem to oppose)? Why would you expect musicians, who spend a lifetime acquiring a skill that can provide entertainment for others, to work for free? I assume the musicians you refer to in your post all have a separate source of income, which would make them amateurs. And if that's the case, then why bring them up? Are you suggesting that all artists/musicians should be amateurs and none should expect to be compensated for their expertise (i.e., become professionals)?

The NEA, like other funding agencies (NSF, NIH), helps create jobs, by awarding artists to take on some temporary salary in order to develop a skill-set and portfolio so that they can move on with their professional careers. It also funds lots of programs that foster art/music in schools. And funding art/music has positive effects on the economy. It does a lot of things, none of which really have to do with the fact that you seem to think it is a good idea to cajole a bunch of musicians into showcasing their expertise for free. If the government's duty is to create jobs, then why cut agencies that help create them? And I don't buy into the fact that we need to cut funding in this section of government, in order to stimulate job growth in a different sector (e.g., manufacturing).

I would also not necessarily view the NEA as the culprit or cause in the culture wars, but rather the bully pulpit (often Republican, but not always) senators/representatives, who use art that they find distasteful as a means to launch some sophomoric rant prior to election years. They do the same thing with the NSF. The NEA funds artists: whether the public or elected officials like it, is simply a matter of opinion. It was the latter who launched the culture wars. Serrano would have languished in relative obscurity in the public eye if it weren't for some moralizing do-gooders who brought attention to him.
 
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