To All the Non-Believers...

I feel strongly that works of fine art should receive more subsidization from the government in order to lower ticket prices and allow a larger base of people to attend. However, not everyone shares this view. In fact, some believe that the fine arts may receive too much funding.


With the establishment of the NEA (National Endowment of the Arts), the government has been allotting funding for arts establishments all over the nation. The NEA’s government appropriation in 2000 was $100 million. Many people ask themselves why their tax dollars go towards funding such things. They feel as though the money could and should be going towards other national issues, such as digging us out of this economic hole we have dug ourselves into. Let’s be honest, $100 million is no amount to shake a stick at. New York City alone has been graced with serious amounts of money thanks to the NEA. In fact, “The Metropolitan Opera in New York City has been the single largest recipient of NEA funds, with annual grants between $800,000 and $900,000” (Rice). That’s almost one million dollars going towards one institution. I think it is pretty clear as to why many people look at this government funding with dropped jaws and sheer disbelief. Frankly, I find it hard to blame them. Looking at large organizations such as the “Philadelphia Orchestra and Pittsburgh Symphony, which received $290,000 and $280,000, respectively” (Rice), one wonders why they need such large amounts of money. Shouldn’t they be able to fund themselves?     

         

The true answer is that large fine arts organizations need the federal appropriation from the NEA. Without it the productions would not have the potential to be such complex works of art that truly give us that “WOW” experience. It is a fact that without this funding, one of two things would happen. The productions would either have to cut back on the quality of work or raise the ticket pricing through the roof. We already look at ticket prices to shows in such places as the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and get sharp pains in our savings accounts. I strongly feel that a larger amount of government appropriation would allow the shows to retain the quality of work that we have come to expect while allowing a larger range of patronage, thus boosting the appreciation of the arts throughout the nation.

"The Arts Will Thrive Without the National Endowment for the Arts" by William Craig Rice.Free Speech. Scott Barbour, Ed. Current Controversies Series. Greenhaven Press, 2000. Excerpted from William Craig Rice, "I Hear America Singing: The Arts Will Flower Without the NEA," Policy Review, March/April 1997. Reprinted with permission of Policy Review, a publication of The Heritage Foundation.

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