From: smoliar@hilbert.iss.nus.sg (stephen smoliar)
Subject: Re: government and the arts
Reply-To: smoliar@iss.nus.sg (stephen smoliar)
Organization: Institute of Systems Science, NUS, Singapore
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1992 12:14:38 GMT

In article <1992Apr14.175217.22638@osf.org> dbrooks@osf.org (David Brooks)
writes:
>
>My tax form allows me to identify for a deduction any of a wide range of
>voluntary donations to non-profit and cultural organizations.  So, if I
>volunteer to give, say $100 to the BSO, I actually pay (what's the marginal
>rate; I never can remember) $74 and Uncle Sam kicks in $26: money that he
>would otherwise have had.  Come to think, I didn't spend the money on a
>consumer toy, so the State is forfeiting sales tax.
>
Actually, the first time the Jesse Helms story surfaced on this bulletin board,
I raised this point and argued that it was not enough.  Ultimately, I think we
need more INCENTIVE for those who are in a position to serve as patrons of the
arts to a greater or lesser degree.  Therefore, I would like have the ability
to claim a TAX CREDIT, rather than a deduction from my income, for the money
to choose to give to the arts;  and I would like to have greater flexibility
in the money I can claim for such purposes.  For example, if I buy my own copy
of "Piss Christ," I would certainly like to take a credit on that investment,
just as I would for a contribution of $5000 to the Metropolitan Opera
(particularly since I shall be able to enjoy the Serrano effort over
a much longer period of time).

Mind you, all this applies to my AMERICAN tax forms.  Now that I am writing
from a country which has, for all intents and purposes, NO government support
of the arts, my perspective has shifted a bit.  Regular readers will note that
I have not posted very much about artistic events out here in Singapore,
primarily because I see no need to flame at great length about little gnats
of mediocrity which are unlikely to bite any other readers.  (Meanwhile, while
everyone else bemoans the state of classical music radio in their home towns,
I must rest content with a radio station whose attitude towards classical music
is, at best, negligent.)  Needless to say, the situation for both performance
and broadcasting is unlikely to change because no one is particularly motivated
to do anything about it.

Would the tax-break gambit have any effect over here?  The tax rate is
certainly far from insignificant, and I suspect there are few Singaporeans
who would not be interested in ANY way to improve their tax bill.  On the
other hand support of the arts demands something else which may very well
be lacking in this country, which is an ability to form and develop critical
opinions of ANYTHING, be it art, politics, or even your favorite restaurant.
(Yes, Vance, I'm bringing food into the argument again;  but we do not talk
a lot about sex out here.)  Education in Singapore is a highly objective
affair, geared more at giving the right answers to tests than developing
opinions;  and the effect of this process exercises a strong grip on the
way adults lead their lives.  Thus, one is just not INTERESTED in whether
or not the string section of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra can play in
tune if one's only concern is to spend that particular evening going out.
When you have a society which is so thoroughly NEUTRAL in its opinions about
art, even tax incentives may be unlikely to shake them into making decisions
which might improve the quality of the concerts they attend of the music they
hear on the radio.

Perhaps this is one reason why my own feelings towards artists like Serrano are
so positive.  Going to a gallery or a concert is NOT (at least for me) the same
thing as going to Burger King.  You do not go to pay your money and consume;
and it often takes more than a little provocation to shake the public out of
such expectations (particularly when even the most reputable institutions
resort to "mass marketing" techniques--such as the Picasso retrospective
at the modern about a decade ago).  Mind you, I still find "Piss Christ"
both attractive and sublime;  but I also think it was important that it
was so much out of the ordinary.  (Otherwise, it would not have attracted
Jesse Helms' attention and become reproduced in a source I happened to read.)
-- 
Stephen W. Smoliar; Institute of Systems Science
National University of Singapore; Heng Mui Keng Terrace
Kent Ridge, SINGAPORE 0511
Internet:  smoliar@iss.nus.sg
Newsgroups: rec.music.classical