Trump budget proposal an assault on arts and culture

Opinion – The Daily Aztec Close Sydney Sweeney, Senior Staff ColumnistMarch 22, 2017
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Donald Trump thinks arts and culture are trivial. At least that is what he is communicating to Americans. Last week his administration released a partial outline of the 2018 federal budget that threatens four independent cultural agencies — the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Each agency serves a distinct purpose rooted in the accessibility, research and preservation of its focus.
Some of these organizations risk eradication. At the top of Trump’s hit list is the only agency that our federal government has wholly dedicated to artistic excellence — the NEA. For decades, this program has been neglected and censured by Republican politicians and intolerant conservatives, yet the significance of the NEA outweighs that of saving a few federal bucks. If realized, the elimination of the agency is a misstep that can lead to national calamity, affecting citizens who don’t identify as artists.
It is no secret that the administration’s reason for ridding of the NEA relates to Trump’s obsession with disproportionately handing money to Veterans Affairs, Homeland Security and the Department of Defense. This month the New York Times reported that these three agencies are the only ones to receive a budget increase for 2018 — predictably, defense has received the largest increase in dollars, spiking to $574 billion, roughly a 10 percent increase from last year — while all other departmental budgets have not only stagnated, but shrunken.
These proposed cuts would result in a 1.2 percent decrease in discretionary spending overall, but Trump’s careless thrift echoes unreasonable priorities, like scaling back on career training programs focused on assisting disadvantaged citizens — seniors, youth and the unemployed — while spending over $1.5 billion on the detention and removal of undocumented immigrants. With more than a ...


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