In response to the report on the new administration’s efforts to eliminate the NEA, we wanted to share this post from our friends at Americans for the Arts:
There are many decision-making points in our federal process including the White House, Congressional budget resolution, Congressional appropriations committees, plus the full House and Senate. Each of these branches and stages need to be informed so that good decisions result. We look forward to leading that advocacy.
What we do know is that the arts are a great investment in our national economy.
- The arts are a $704 billion industry.
- The arts mean business, accounting for 4.2 percent of the nation’s annual GDP.
- The arts deliver an economic advantage, generating a $24 billion annual trade surplus.
- The arts equal jobs, employing 4.7 million workers.
- The very small NEA budget serves as a significant leveraging tool that has helped create an entire industry of locally based small business and jobs that cannot be outsourced.
The arts make America great, creating unique cultural identities for communities, dynamic tourism destinations for visitors, educational programs for adults and children, healing programs for military veterans and their families, and improvement in areas as diverse as transportation, housing and infrastructure.
Arts advocates should be prepared to share the broad value of the arts in the upcoming days and weeks. Take a moment to join the Americans for the Arts Action Fund for free today. Tell friends to join. When you do, you will be connected to ongoing alerts filled with information about how you and your friends and colleagues can support the arts through action, advocacy, and mobilization.
Americans for the Arts wants to work with the incoming Administration in making America the best that it can be and we feel certain the arts are a proven strategy for building better lives and communities across the country. Thank you for working with us to ensure every American has opportunities to experience the transformative power of the arts.
