The Federal government announced it would no longer give the SummerWorks Theatre Festival in Toronto any more money. This is good news and we should applaud any government effort to cut back on subsidies to business, any business, including the arts.
That's because art, like any business, should live or die by providing a good or service that people want.
Government shouldn't subsidize businesses because if forces people to pay for things they don't want.
But there is an even bigger reason why government shouldn't subsidize the arts. Art is the expression of ideas and using tax dollars to support ideas people disagree with is immoral and violates their freedom of speech.
Politicians should be fostering fellowship, not strife. One group shouldn't be abused to fund another.
If artists cannot get people to voluntarily buy their wares, then taxpayers shouldn't be forced to pay for it -- and the artist should keep his day job.
Not everyone wants an MRI. Does this mean government shouldn't subsidize MRI's? Wait, don't answer that.
ReplyDeleteYou don't like Canada, go live in the US. We give a crap about the health of our society here. It's not just about business.
Two comments:
ReplyDelete1) Tax dollars go to paying for sham and partisan PR campaigns like the current "next phase of Canada's Economic Action Plan" drivel...why are my tax dollars paying for that?
2) 60% of voters in the last election said they didn't like the Harper Conservatives' ideas...so why are we paying for them?