This is totally unrelated to my life in Germany. However, I have been following the debate on arts funding in Obama's new stimulus plan. The initial plan was to cut all arts funding for museums, theatres, etc as "frivolous spending" and of course got the arts organizations up in arms. There were petitions circling Facebook among the theatre kids like you wouldn't believe, encouraging you to write to your Senator and tell about your job and your life. Thankfully, the arts made it back into the plan. $50 million, which is not a lot when you think about it, but every bit helps.
Major theatres are cutting funding. Theatre after theatre is closing. Even ones that were doing really really well are now having issues. No one is unaffected. This does not bode well for people like me who are attempting to break into an already notoriously underpaid industry. I hope this helps. Maybe everyone should read this statement.
This guy is probably one of my new favorite people:
Arguing for the $50 million in arts money on the House floor on Friday, Representative David R. Obey. Democrat of Wisconsin, said: “You know what? There are five million people who work in the arts industry. And right now they have 12.5 percent unemployment — or are you suggesting that somehow if you work in that field, it isn’t real when you lose your job, your mortgage or your health insurance? We’re trying to treat people who work in the arts the same way as anybody else.”
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2 comments:
Katie, David Obey was my congressman while I was in high school. Good egg and very smart guy.
You know I'm behind you guys . . . .
Very interesting subject matter....
I am stubborn about this "economic crisis" and want to believe it's a bunch of hype, and then issues like this remind me that we are all being affected.
I do appreciate your comment on my blog. It was encouraging.
I am trying to process through so many decisions right now that I am a little bit overwhelmed. Growing up is not easy!
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