New Jersey's Fiscal 2004 Budget

[Guest aredredrose4u]

Governer McGreevey was planning to cut all arts funding for New Jersey for his new 2004 budget. Yes, NJ does have a a worrysome deficit, but cutting funding for the arts?!?! I wrote a letter to McGreevey in the Spring of '03 and the man didn't even reply...I did get in contact with ArtPride of NJ which invited me to write to Newsweek about the subject! I also could have gone to testify against the funding drop but unfortunately didn't have the time...Luckily McGreevey dropped his crazy idea, which would have left museums, theaters, and my ballet school's company, American Repertory Ballet in big trouble if it had been passed. This is definitely a problem, not only in New Jersey, but evidently, all across the nation.

[BryanM]

Im afraid its going to get worse before it gets better in many communities. The current mix of budget shortfalls and attitudes towards public supported arts is sad. The most important thing is to get organized and make sure the traditional supportors keep the pressure on gov officials.

[mcgwillie]

There was an earlier thread on funding for the arts at the state level and I guess this is sort of an extension of that. I am a ballet dad who has gotten hooked and now we go to see the local company, even if we have no daughters dancing in the production. And the arts add to the enjoyment and civility of life, so you are preaching to the choir about arts funding.

But I think the dilemma goes deeper than merely pressuring narrow minded politicians. The states face some real budget problems. Many states have had to cut the extent of social services they provide. In out state, where I work for a government agency that deals with aspects of taxation and where we also monitor local government spending, we have made cuts in social services, at the university level and in funding for K-12 education. Our agency, and some others, have laid people off. My point is, in these kinds of times, the politicians we elect, who reflect our views, or at least the segments of the population that voted for them, see the arts as a frill or an extra, in comparison to these other items. Or look at it this way, if you were a state senator or governor, and you had to make hard budget choices, would you want to be perceived as funding the arts over funding social services to help kids or elderly people?

No, I think the problem lies with the public. What is it willing to pay for with tax dollars? Our agency gets phone calls and letters from the public, invariably complaining about the level at which they are taxed. I understand that. But these same folks expect good roads, good schools, law enforcement or fire protection when they call 911, and help in caring for their aged parents. There is this huge disconnect for many people between the idea of adequate public services and the taxes they pay. There also seems to be an unwillingness to pay for things that may have a benefit to society as a whole but don't benefit individual taxpayers personally. I don't know how that gets reversed. But a start would be for us, as citizens, to give more thought to what we think government should do or not do, in terms of services and spending and what level of taxation is reasonable to support those functions.

mcgwillie

[Mel Johnson]

I think my philosophy of government service runs something like this: "It is the province of government to do for the people that which they would have done, but are unable best to do by themselves."

If we take that as a criterion, then it's up to the people to support, protect and defend and in fact, make arts spending. That which they are unable to do, they must clearly and cogently inform government that it's not pulling its weight. Now, this informing takes its form most powerfully at the ballot box (I nearly wrote "the ballet box"!), but letters, emails, even the personal buttonholing of good honest hardworking politicians on district visits must come into play. If the government isn't doing its job, it's up to the voters and others to make their concerns heard, and to make them stick! If they don't do it, turn the rascals out, and put our rascals in!