Premium
Cultural Policy in the Era of Shrinking Government
Author(s) -
Cargo Russell A.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
review of policy research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.832
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1541-1338
pISSN - 1541-132X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1541-1338.1995.tb00634.x
Subject(s) - the arts , public administration , government (linguistics) , cultural policy , endowment , democracy , political science , cultural institution , cultural heritage , institution , criticism , resizing , economics , sociology , political economy , economic policy , politics , law , media studies , european union , philosophy , linguistics
Deep cuts in federal funding for the arts are certain and elimination of support is possible. This paper examines the causes of the crisis and concludes that our own heritage, current fiscal pressures, and the lack of a clearly articulated national cultural policy threaten funding for the arts in the United States. In response, a model cultural policy is presented that eliminates the National Endowment for the Arts and substitutes one with a more predictable base of support, including for four national cultural centers: the Smithsonian Institution, National Gallery of Art, Library of Congress, and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Through a clear cultural policy, sources of contentiousness can be removed, criticism of public funding for the arts eliminated, and tax reforms implemented to create more democratic participation and higher levels of funding for public and nonprofit institutions.