Ron Paul on the Arts

[corsairtro]

My sister is your typical "starving artist" going to grad school out of love for her arts. My family has been historicall republican but she registered Democrat back in August before I knew about Dr. Paul.

I tried to briefly explain to her that while she hates repbulicans for their cutting of arts funding, the Dems wouldn't necessarily do any better. I tried to explain that the tax cuts Dr. Paul would offer all Americans would allow those with an appreciation for the arts a bigger chunk of their income to donate to arts programs and foundations.

I also got her to admit that she doesn't think taxing people to fund arts is necessarily the best way to accomplish arts programs funding.

What else can we cite from Dr. Paul that would convince her that Dr. Paul is the answer to arts funding?

 

[OptionsTrader]

My opinion:

1) Under a Ron Paul federal government, I think federal funding for art would be considered unconstitutional and phased out over time (probably not on the top of his list), but states and local governments could spend willy nilly on art to their hearts content, as the constitution allows.

2) If we do not dramatically scale back the US foreign invasionary empire of 700 bases in 130 countries, and if we do not pull out of Iraq, and if we invade Iran, Syria, and North Korea:
2a) There will not be any funding for federal programs for art anyway. The warfare state will demand larger and larger piece of the budget, and more and more borrowing from China to fund it. Debasing the dollar and ruining the economy.
2b) She and other artists will be drafted to fight in North Korea, Iran, and Syria. Unable to practice their art. And probably will die, be mamed, or succomb to psychological distress like many of our persian gulf veterans, affecting their ability to practice art.
2c) The economy is going to enter a depression, and there will be precious little discretionary income to spend on art.

3) In a more free, less war-like, more prosperous America, people like my wife would buy more art and visit art museums and such than in an America that is less free, more fascist, more war-like, and less prosperous.

 

[Tom228]

The Constitution:

Article 1 Section 8

The Congress shall have power...

To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries;

When I first read it I was kinda surprised the arts were mentioned in the Constitution.

 

[angelatc]

The Constitution:



When I first read it I was kinda surprised the arts were mentioned in the Constitution.

I don't think that painting is a useful art, unless you're preparing an exterior surface from the onslaught of the harsh weather conditions.

Art predates government. Art always outlives governments. The art that is taught in schools is crap. Like it or not, art is art, not science. It isn't something you can teach, it is something that certain people have.

Let PBS accept advertising, let the Met pay for their programs out of their trust money, and let me support the artists I like by buying their work.

The government does not owe anybody a living, even artists.

 

[Tom228]

I don't think that painting is a useful art, unless you're preparing an exterior surface from the onslaught of the harsh weather conditions.

Art predates government. Art always outlives governments. The art that is taught in schools is crap. Like it or not, art is art, not science. It isn't something you can teach, it is something that certain people have.

Let PBS accept advertising, let the Met pay for their programs out of their trust money, and let me support the artists I like by buying their work.

The government does not owe anybody a living, even artists.

Well the arts doesn't just mean painting, it can also refer to music and theater.

Art is something people should promote and preserve. It shows the culture and society of a people. It's a a way of expression. It's just as important as whatever else you believe.

 

[Maverick]

The Constitution:

Article 1 Section 8

The Congress shall have power...

To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries;

When I first read it I was kinda surprised the arts were mentioned in the Constitution.

Sounds like it gives the authority to issue patents, not funding.

 

[OptionsTrader]

"by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries" is in regards to the protection of copyrights rewarding the individual author.

 

[Tom228]

It's how you interpret it I guess.

 

[banjojambo9]

Ive been playing music for 40 years nobody ever gave me a dime .People that want to steal my money so they can pretend they are artists make me mad this is wrong! tell her to get a job .Let me keep my taxes. I can barely afford to clothe and feed my children as it is

 

[Cigaboo]

If the economy does better (as a result of Ron getting elected), people will be able to afford to buy art more, which is not considered a necessity. And artists will lose less money to taxes. Everyone wins.

 

[ErikBlack]

I'm a professional artist and don't see any benefit in government funding of the arts. Art is not something that requires a lot of money or instruction. All you need to appreciate and practice art is a little bit of talent and a little bit of time. Poor people can become rich artists and rich people can become poor artists. I think government funding is targeted more toward the later group.

 

[Hangly Man]

In Ron Paul's America, artists are free to consume all the drugs they can afford.

Just kidding.

There will still be endowments for the arts, but they'll be voluntary rather than compulsory. With that 40% of my income returned to me I would certainly buy more art and attend more concerts.

Also with no income tax an artist's income would be livable.

 

[painter4Ron Paul]

advice from a working artist

okey dokkey

 

[WachterZ]

Under Ron Paul, elimination of the income tax = more money for citizens to focus on art. And without as many wars and scandals to report on, maybe the mainstream media will give the arts a little attention too.

Like it or not, art is art, not science. It isn't something you can teach, it is something that certain people have.

You can most definitely teach the arts. I went to college with plans to be an Aerospace Engineer, but eventually realized that although I was interested in engineering, my passion was for music. Unfortunately, I had a lot of natural talent on the engineering side, but not so much for music, haha. But I switched to a music major, and learned how to be a successful musician. It's not just some esoteric instinct that people are born with. There is history, technique, logic, and even some math and physics in it (especially if you get into producing and sound engineering). And it's teachable, otherwise I'd have ended up on the streets.

 

[angelatc]

Hi, the Federal government does not hand out grants to artists right and left and has not since the 1990s. The NEA now focuses on nonprofits not individual artists.

I watched Jeff FLake and his anti-earmark crusading on C-SPAN one night. He was pointing out that giving money (six digits) to a non-profit (IIRC, it was the NY ballet troupe) that had a trust fund war chest of nearly a billion dollars was, uh, wrong.

The bill passed.

Useful arts is not, by my definition, drama, theatre, photography, poetry, or any other of the work the "holier than thou" artisians.

I've been through public school and college level art classes. Knowing that Degas liked the dancers and Lautrec liked the lesbians got me a passing grade, but did nothing to enrich me. Seeing glossy textbook representations of their work was probably actually counterproductive, because nothing made me crave seeing the work.

Point is - actually seeing the paintings indeed was, surprisingly, breathtaking, but it reinforced my opinion that art as taught in public settings is watered down, useless garbage.