Focus on the Federal Budget

Can We Afford More Art?

The National Endowment for the Arts is the federal agency charged with "bringing the arts to all Americans," but it seems unlikely that they will  succeed since their current budget of $125 million represents only 42 cents per citizen per year.

We often hear that there is not enough money for the arts because funds are needed for social services, education, or health care.  But the truth is that 42% of the $2 trillion federal budget goes to the military.

Since our 2007 military expenses were $874 billion, our arts budget of $125 million represents about one hour and 12 minutes of our annual military spending. What could we create with even one full day of peace where we could pay for artists instead of soldiers?

According to the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, if you had an expense account that let you spend $1 million dollars per day, it would take 2,391 years to spend $872.6 billion, the cost of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars so far.
www.armscontrolcenter.org

For more facts and analysis of the federal budget, check out the National Priorities Project. They have many excellent charts that make it easy to understand how your tax dollars are being spent.
www.nationalpriorities.org

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Presidential Policies on the Arts -
Obama Has One, McCain Doesn't

Although history will judge the United States on the quality of our artistic expression, there has been almost no discussion of arts policy in the mainstream coverage of the current presidential campaign.  When future generations look back at us, will the U.S. be honored for its cultural achievements? How will the candidates ensure that the U.S. is an enduring inspiration to the world?

There are substantial differences between the two candidates on this issue. Barack Obama has assembled a National Arts Policy Committee of 33 arts leaders (approximately half are women), and with their help he has drafted a two-page platform in support of the arts.  (See http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/issues/
additional/Obama_FactSheet_Arts.pdf) The Democratic platform includes a plank that echoes Obama's views. (See the text below.)

In stark contrast, neither John McCain's website nor the Republican platform lists the arts as an issue. Even in the section of their platform that deals with education, the Republicans stress a "back to basics" approach and do not mention the arts. (See http://platform.gop.com/2008Platform.pdf )

Obama Promises More Money, More Favorable Laws

Obama promises to increase the budget of the National Endowment for the Arts, which has dropped from its peak of $175 million in 1992 to $125 million now. He specifically mentions that he will increase federal funding for arts education and for "cultural diplomacy" programs which would send U.S. artists to other countries as "cultural ambassadors."

Obama states that he will advocate for legislative changes to streamline the visa process (which has been very restricted since 9/11) to make it easier for artists and students to visit the U.S., and he supports a change in the federal tax code that would give artists a break by letting them deduct the fair market value of their work (instead of just the costs of their materials) when they donate their works to charity. 

An Artist Corps in the Schools

One of Obama's most interesting ideas is his plan to form an "Artist Corps" of young artists trained to work in low-income schools and their communities. Programs like this that create jobs for artists have often been the most effective forms of arts subsidy in the U.S.

For instance, in 1935 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt launched the Works Progress Administration in response to the massive unemployment during the Great Depression. The WPA philosophy was to put people back to work in jobs that would serve the public and enhance the workers' skills and self-esteem.  Although the program only lasted until 1942, it employed up to 40,000 artists a year and provided training to many who became the most distinguished artists of their generation.  

Like many other citizens, U.S. artists are struggling to make ends meet as a result of rapidly increasing prices for the basic living expenses of housing, food, transportation, and health care. Both candidates claim that their programs will help all Americans address these issues, however the Republican policies over the past 8 years have made these problems worse. Obama's arts policy recognizes that finding affordable health care is a particular problem for many artists since they often work independently and are not eligible for employer-funded health programs.

McCain Has A Record of Voting Against the Arts

Although the Arts Action Fund has been working since the New Hampshire primaries in 2007 to obtain statements from each of the candidates about their arts policies, the McCain campaign has not addressed this issue. (For links to the arts policies of each candidate, see http://www.artsactionfund.org/artsvote/001.asp .)

Therefore, the only way to deduce McCain's attitude towards the arts is to review his voting record in the Senate, which reveals that he has voted to reduce arts funding twice.  (See http://artsusa.www.capwiz.com/artsusa/keyvotes.xc/?lvl=C)