Fund the NEA!

There is a lot of talk in the media and in Washington about "wasteful spending" in the current economic stimulus plan. Republicans and op-eds have targeted the NEA as an example of such wasteful spending. They make allusions to the ballet, or gallery work, and argue that Americans need work, not art. I have news for them.

The arts ARE work for Americans. The arts ARE economic development. Here are some facts:

* There are more full-time jobs supported by the nonprofit arts than are in accounting, public safety officers, even lawyers and just slightly fewer than elementary school teachers.

* A $50 million investment to the National Endowment for the Arts will save 14,422 jobs from being lost in the U.S. economy. This is based on the ability of the NEA to leverage $7 in additional support through local, state and private donations, for every $1 in NEA support.

* There are approximately 100,000 nonprofit arts organizations, which spend $63.1 billion annually. Without an economic stimulus for the nonprofit arts industry, experts expect about 10% of these organizations (ranging from large arts institutions like museums and orchestras to small community-based organizations in suburban, urban and rural areas) to shut their doors in 2009 – a loss of 260,000 jobs.

Go to the Americans for the Arts website and voice your support for NEA funding.