A month or so ago I wrote about cuts to the New York State Council on the Arts, as proposed by Governor Paterson. The cuts fell through at that time, due to political wrangling related to which party would be in the majority when, in the New York State Senate. A convoluted sentence for a convoluted occurrence. And, a long story.
This week the Governor announced a proposed cut of 20 percent to NYSCA for next year’s budget, as well as calling again for a $7 million mid-year cut, which due to the timing of the mid-year cut, would make the cut in a bad government style, leaving those who had grants made early in the year held harmless, while those who were to be part of what were suspended October and December grant panels zeroed out. That’s the difficulty of the mid-year cut: timing makes for inequity.
I remember the once great California Arts Council. I remember a number of years ago when its budget was reduced to something along the lines of $1 million. The arts field in New York is going to have to gear up for a fight. This is just the tip of the iceberg and if we don’t fight now, we will lose that much more.
Here’s a little bit of what’s out there:
A Bloodless Budget, by Michael McMahon