Stokes, Randy wrote: >[snip] >Or could it be that religion is a deeply personal matter that government >simply has no right meddling with? Support the church of your choice, or >none at all if you wish. Just don't take *my* money to support *your* >beliefs. > >Why can't art be treated the same way?
Meddling vs. laissez faire. It is a false dichotomy. We have a mixed economy and have had one for a very long time. Randy, I'm always surprised when you write about no governmental support of the arts when, I'm guessing, most of Coda's clientele receives, or has received, benefits from the government in various forms. I'll use part of my own history as an example of what I mean: I studied music at Indiana University, a land grant college--a major historical governmental support system. Indiana, like any university, also relies on donations which gives the donator certain tax advantages. The buildings and programs at the university were funded by a mix of private money and student's money, but mostly government grants. I earned some of my tuition through summer jobs and teaching assistantships, but I also relied on government-sponsored student loans and also bursaries and scholarships that had some state money in them. My teachers and fellow students also needed similar support in their time. Today, when I get a commission to write a new piece (Finale content here!) chances are that the commissioning orchestra or group has received support through an arms-length, government-supported arts council, or, from a private foundation, endowment, or donor that enjoys government-regulated tax advantages. You will be hard-pressed to find an industry or occupation that has not had, or continue to have, subsidies, grants, tax benefits, tariffs and duties, low interest loans, planned procurement, or other forms of governmental assistance. (I'm also including religious groups which get tax status, and sometimes matching governmental funds for some of their programs: literacy, relief, development and so on.) The western economy is a mixed one. Debate what the right mixture should be if you want, but lets not pretend that support of the arts is an either/or proposition. -Randolph Peters _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
