Dear Everyone;
Last week the Chronicle reported on the new NEA pork funding for the
arts. I wrote a Letters to the Editor about it. It finally made it
to the Letters to Datebook section in Tuesdays 12/23 Chronicle. I
identified myself as a Libertarian but the Chronicle dropped that
part of the letter.
Ron Getty
SF Libertarian
NEA Funds Pork
Editor -- The Chronicle reported on the release of $25 million to
art groups and writers around the country ("Bay Area groups get $2
million in NEA grants," Dec. 18). Where in the U.S. Constitution
does it authorize the forcible transfer of taxpayer dollars to
artists and writers? The use of tax dollars for the NEA forces the
working poor to subsidize art that is mainly patronized by middle-
and upper-class people. This funding of the arts is nothing more
than a highbrow pork barrel.
Some say they use the money to bring the arts to the masses, but
this does not work. Others say artists need help during their
struggling years. What's so special about artists? Why aren't there
subsidies for auto mechanics during their struggling years? Ever try
to find a good auto mechanic?
Who decides who gets this money? Government bureaucrats. This is the
politicization of the arts. Government should not be in this role.
The arts need to be untainted by government controls.
RON GETTY
San Francisco