From: grimlok@hubcap.clemson.edu (Mike Percy)
Subject: Re: Nea a need *3*
Organization: Clemson University
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1992 17:20:31 GMT

rwd4f@poe.acc.Virginia.EDU (Rob Dobson) writes:

>grimlok@hubcap.clemson.edu (Mike Percy) writes:

[I said people who are paid to do something tend to do it just well
enough to get paid.  People who do the same activity without getting
paid tend to find it more enjoyable, do it better, etc.]

>1. Please cite at least one of these 'many studies', or even an article
>which mentions these studies. Are these studies related to art in any way,
>or are you just leaping to a conclusion based on studies done on, say,
>those who like computers but then rebel against them when paid to program
>them 40 hrs a week.
 
I happen to have a book at home, from which I derive this statement.
Tonight, I'll reference the particular section and the bibliography.
And from my personal experience, programming computers _is_ such an
activity.  I think nothing of staying up all night trying to get
something I'm writing for myself just right, but it's _much_ easier to
kick off at quitting time from work's programming.  How many people love
to read?  And how many of those same people hated literature classes
where you were forced to read something you would have read anyway?  I
know that fits me to a 'T'.

>2. No one is saying the arts wouldnt exist without the NEA. However, there
>would be less access to this art by the general public, or even the
>'cultural elite'. A lot of music that we buy here at UVA music library could
>not have been published without government grants. This music could still
>exist, but no one (or few people) besides the composer would even know it
>existed, much less hear it. 
 
So this music isn't great enough to inspire people to play it without
the government paying them to?  If it was inspiring, people would play
it and want to listen to it.  If it's not any good, why should we pay
for it?

>Plus, think of things like symphony orchestras.
>Without government funding, most of these would either have to raise their
>already high ticket prices, putting them even farther out of reach than they
>already are, or shut down. Once again, this wouldnt make the music cease
>to exist, but it would make it even more difficult, if not impossible, to
>hear it performed live.
 
Ever heard of volunteer symphonies?  Granted, sine these people aren't
payed to play their instruments full-time, they don;t sound quite as
good as professional symphonies, but they are pleasant nonetheless.
And they often have free concerts as well.  

>3. Considering that the military spends more money on its cheesy bands to
>spew out Souza marches than the entire NEA budget, and also lets arms
>contractors use US equipment free of charge to help advertise these weapons
>(at a cost of $100s of millions), to name just two egregious abuses, I think
>we can find better ways to save money. Our budget for this year is in the
>trillions (to put it in perspective, 1 trillion is around 75 million times
>my salary), and it wont get better by gutting the miniscule amount we spend
>on arts.

I agree with the abuses and agree they should be cut.  Nice to see your
value judgements though -- ceesy bands, spew out...  I happen to like
military bands _and_ Sousa marches, but do they need to be funded?
Hardly.  If the military wants to promote a volunteer band that military
personell comprise on their off-duty hours, that'd be great!

>4. Isnt it amazing how this argument crops up on almost every newsgroup??

Hmm, did I miss some crossposting in the headers?  nn doesn't give me
the headers when I compose a followup.  I'll try to be more careful to
keep it in appropriate groups.

If so many people come to the same conclusion (and hopefully applied
some mental effort to reach a rational conclusion) perhaps it has some
merit?

Mike Percy             | grimlok@hubcap.clemson.edu  | I don't know about
Sr. Systems Analyst    | mspercy@clemson.clemson.edu | your brain, but mine
Info. Sys. Development | mspercy@clemson.BITNET      | is really...bossy.
Clemson University     | (803) 656-3780              | (Laurie Anderson)
Organization: Art, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA