Fri 30 Jan 2009
As we all brace ourselves against the worst hit on our economy since the Great Depression, I’m amazed at all the random bad news:
As a kid, I was pretty thrilled with the Mr. Yuck stickers. I proudly stuck them all over the house since the Mr. Yuck stickers give us the poison control number–but what happens if that number is no good? That’s right, our local poison control hotline might be shutting down!
Seattle has always allotted a certain amount of money that goes towards public art. This means if you have a construction site up, expect it to be ornamented. An example would be the future site of the Broadway light rail station. Not any more! It’s true that when comparing the importance of feeding the needy and the aesthetic value of a mural painted on a construction wall….well, feeding the homeless wins hands down.
NPR is always full of coping with the economy stories, from the earth shattering news of busted banks to the mundane, (i.e.): How to Break Up With Your Yoga Instructor.
Despite all of these heart wrenching, ‘aw, man!’ kind of stories, I still feel a certain thrill when the NPR host begins a sentence with, “President Obama.” Really? He’s our president! Really! And with that comes the joys of knowing that finally, finally, someone with the same mind-set as me is in the office. This includes a recent NPR story that made me cheer: Stimulus Package Includes Millions For The Arts
January 30th, 2009 at 11:15 am
It’s scary out there. Doom and gloom everywhere. The recession keeps getting deeper. Layoffs at Boeing, MSFT, Starbucks…. now they’re saying we might be in this for five years.
Word is that 2009 will be a year of panic. Hold onto your hats; we’re in for a ride.
Me: I’m glad to have a job and a competent president and a large network of contacts, friends, and family to draw on if needed.
January 30th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
The problem with yanking the public art budget is that the money for that comes out of the cost of new construction as a straight percentage. So it is not money that would become available for other things (like feeding the homeless) — it’s pretty much just a gift to developers.
As for the funding for arts in the stimulus package, I would be surprised to see that in the final bill. The Republicans like to use arts funding as an example of “pork,” conveniently forgetting that artists must eat and pay rent too. Giving a check to an artist will almost certainly result in that money being re-circulated into the economy as opposed to, say, giving a tax break to a billionaire, who will probably put that money into savings (“Oh, more money? Jeeves, throw this on the pile in the vault.”)
January 30th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
I say force Exxon to donate to the arts. They again have posted record earnings. Is there something wrong with this picture?