Taking the long view.
Who says the Republicans never take the long view? Why, they’re looking into all of the money we could save if we just axe the National Endowment for the Arts, PBS, and the National Endowment for the Humanities!
“In 2001, America spent $27 billion on nonprofit arts funding: $11.5 billion from the private sector; $14 billion in earned income (tickets sales, etc.); and $1.3 billion in combined federal, state, and local public support (of which $105 million was from the NEA—0.39% of total nonprofit arts funding),” the report states. “The funding could easily be funded by private donations. Savings: $1.8 billion over ten years ($678 million over five years).”
As for public television, the report notes, “CPB, which receives $400 million annually from Congress, funds the Public Broadcasting Service at 15% of its annual budget. The other 85% of PBS’s budget comes from viewer donations, local government, and universities. CPB and PBS continue to use federal funding to pay for questionable programming, such as a documentary on sex education funded by the Playboy Foundation. Additionally, much of the programming on PBS, such as ‘Sesame Street,’ could bring in enough annual revenues to cover the loss of federal funding. Savings: $5.6 billion over ten years ($2.2 billion over five years).”
The report does not indicate specifically how programs such as “Sesame Street” could raise that revenue.
The RSC has also recommended eliminating the National Endowment for the Humanities, which supports research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. “As with the NEA, the general public benefits very little” from the NEH, the report declares, “and it could easily be funded by private donations. Savings: $2 billion over ten years ($769 million over five years).”
See? Why, with those numbers, if we pull out of Iraq as I type this, we’ll manage to pay for it in saved Arts and Humanities funds in only 210 years! Long term thinking!
Oops! Now it’s 211. Darn my slow math.