After Cuts, States Use The Arts To Boost The Economy
Submitted by Steve on July 25, 2012
From Micheline Maynard at Forbes:
As the recession grew deeper, states across the country took aim at budgets for the arts. In Kansas, Gov. Sam Brownback used his line-item veto power to eliminate funding for the for the Kansas Arts Commission, making his state the first to eliminate arts money altogether. At the time, Brownback called the commission a luxury his state couldn’t afford. Now, Brownback has quietly changed course — but in a different guise.
Stateline reports that Kansas is proposing money for the arts again under a new strategy that equates these projects with economic development. The governor proposed the creation of a new “Creative Arts Industries Commission” that would focus on the potential of the arts and creative industries such as graphic design and architecture to help the state’s economy.
Across the nation, arts funding is still suffering, according to Stateline. There has been a 37 percent drop in funding arts for arts’ sake since 2001. But arts for the economy’s sake is paying off.