David Byrne Blasts Proposed Cuts To Funding For The Arts

David Byrne publicly slammed President Donald Trump’s proposed cuts to the arts at a rally at New York’s City Hall. “The Trump administration and their Republican allies hope to eliminate funding for a number of federal arts organizations,” Byrne writes in an essay posted on his website entitled “What Good Are The Arts?”More »

By on April 5, 2017

David Byrne publicly slammed President Donald Trump’s proposed cuts to the arts at a rally at New York’s City Hall. “The Trump administration and their Republican allies hope to eliminate funding for a number of federal arts organizations,” Byrne writes in an essay posted on his website entitled “What Good Are The Arts?” “This is a political move – it really doesn’t amount to much money-it’s a tiny part of the federal budget. The amount of federal funding is $741 million, which sounds like a lot, but is less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the United States’ annual federal spending, an amount supporters say is too small to make a difference in the budget if it was cut. On a budget pie chart it doesn’t even show up, it’s too small.” Byrne goes on to argue for the “undeniable and indisputable monetary and social value to the nation as a whole in the publicly funded arts,” citing a recent study finding that non-profit arts generate $135.2 billion in economic activity in the U.S. Copyright(c) 2017 RTTNews.com. All Rights ReservedLess «