Garry Wills writes consistently piercing entries in his NYRB blog:
Republican operatives describe this year’s presidential election in apocalyptic terms. It will determine our future. It will seal our national fate. Well, they are probably right, but not for the reason they give. They tell Republican voters that President Obama, in a second term where he does not have to face re-election, will reveal and follow the full socialist agenda he has been trying to hide.
Only the gullible will swallow that. But the right does know that the future is at stake. That is because this election year gives Republicans one of their last chances—perhaps the very last one—to put the seal on their plutocracy. They are in a race against time. A Democratic wave is rising fast, to wash away the plutocracy before it sets its features in concrete, with future help from the full (not just frequent) cooperation of the Supreme Court.
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The plutocracy in our cultural lives was firmly established over a century ago. The USA is the only developed country in the world without a comprehensive system of public arts funding. Instead, the wealthy fund our non-profit arts organizations which allows them to shape our cultural institutions and cultural lives according to their interests. Outside of a few financial centers where the wealthy live, the quality and quantity of our cultural offerings in areas like opera performances and orchestra concerts remain one of the most paltry in the developed world, and our tickets by far the most expensive.
For just one example, America only has 3 cities in the top 100 for opera performances per year, and the tickets usually cost 4 to 5 times more than in Europe.
This abysmal situation will not be changed regardless of who is elected. All of our Presidential candidates are bankrolled by the wealthy and answer to their interests. No candidate will begin movement toward establishing a comprehensive public funding system for the arts like every other developed country has long had. We are not given a choice. And of course, we will hear virtually nothing about this even on NPR.