Save the Arts by Ending the Endowment The NEA doesn’t live up to its mission of supporting excellence.***** By Patrick Courrielche
http://www.wsj.com/articles/save-the-arts-by-ending-the-endowment-1485390654
President Trump is reportedly considering eliminating the National Endowment for the Arts. The NEA, created in 1965, has become politically tainted and ill-equipped to handle today’s challenges. Mr. Trump and Congress should ax it as soon as possible.
According to the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, the NEA is “a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts, both new and established.” It is charged with “bringing the arts to all Americans,” as well as “providing leadership in arts education.” The endowment is no longer fulfilling its mission.
Arts education has been severely wounded over the better part of two decades through systematic reduction of arts studies in the classroom. Federally mandated standardized tests have unintentionally squeezed out arts curriculum by forcing educators to focus on the subjects included in tests. Due to either political allegiances with education reformers or the inability to predict this trend, the NEA has proved feckless. Why continue throwing money at an organization that hasn’t provided results?
For the American arts to flourish—and for art to reach all Americans—artists must be able to make a living from their efforts. Silicon Valley has methodically dwindled the financial rewards that come with copyright protection. Musicians, photographers, authors and filmmakers have in many ways lost control of the distribution of their art—with search engines and social networks filled with unauthorized copies. Meantime, tech platforms have achieved historic growth using the work of artists as their own content.
User-generated content platforms have successfully lobbied for the continuation of “safe harbor” laws that shield them from the copyright infringement of their users, as well as legislation that has resulted in forced licensing agreements—to the vehement opposition of creators. The NEA hasn’t successfully addressed this critical challenge because the Hatch Act prohibits it from lobbying. CONTINUE AT SITE
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