Time to End US Tax Funding of the Arts?
filed in Book Cover Illustrations and Artwork, Creativity on Jan.28, 2011
Some in the art community fear that Washington DC politicians may cut funding to the arts (NEA, etc.) in an effort to get the budget in check.
My take?
Please make the cuts.
Right to the bone.
Every April 14th I send the IRS a big chunk of my earnings. Probably you do, too. I personally would like an end to funding the arts with tax money (and ditto with the many, many, many other boondoggles) so I might keep just a little more of my own cash and “fund” myself or give to the charity of my choice.
This would cut out the leaching middle man, put money into the pockets of people producing something the public wants to buy rather than to cronies of those ladling out the funds, and avoid forcing people to contribute to projects they may be morally opposed to.
What’s so wrong with that?
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When not grumping about high taxes, Duncan Long labors to get enough capital to pay the IRS. As a freelance magazine and book illustrator, his work has appeared in publications from HarperCollins, PS Publishing, Pocket Books, Solomon Press, Fort Ross, ISFiC Press, and many other publishers and self-publishing authors. See Long’s magazine and book illustrations at: http://DuncanLong.com/art.html
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January 29th, 2011 on 3:19 am
Spoken like a real, working, professional artist, Duncan. Your rationale makes a lot of sense. There was a time when I might have disagreed strongly, but I applied for grants enough times to know where the money really goes.
January 29th, 2011 on 1:44 pm
There was a time when I would have disagreed with me as well. Perhaps age and perspective helps change our visions for the better.