Spending MORE on Art?
The French Government has recently decided to increase the amount of allocated spending dedicated to the Arts - a majority of this will be spent on the arts and museums. This all comes at a time when the world economies are reeling and socialized governments like France’s will be held responsible for the lives and welfare of their citizens. I am not a French government minister not a Public Policy teacher, but it seems to me that France maybe hasn’t thought this through. Won’t the people of France need this all important injection of funds to feed their children, to cloth themselves, to keep a roof over their heads. With so many people out of work, it would seem to me that with the unemployment benefits, etc. the French government will have a very difficult time keeping their books balanced which will lead to increased borrowing among foreign nations (who are likewise in a deep recession) and eventually high inflation. If the world’s governments don’t have the money to spend on these basic human services, they will end up printing more money and our children will pay dearly for these choices. I fully support government taking strong action to curtail recession and consumer confidence, but I just can’t help but worry that we are going a bit too far with 100 million euros going to the arts.
Here is the full text of the article from The Art Newspaper:
LONDON. The French government has allocated an extra €100m to the ministry of culture to spend on arts and museums. The supplementary funding, which complements the 2009 Culture budget of €2.9bn, is part of a plan to help revive the ailing economy. The funds will be used to preserve 150 historic monuments and “speed up major cultural projects, such as the planned Museum of European and Mediterranean civilisations”, says the ministry. The museum is scheduled to open in Marseille.
Any thoughts on the matter??
