Cavemen practiced art without funding from the government – why can’t SD be like the cavemen? Wait . . .
A great article on the arts funding in SD;
Now let’s be clear. South Dakota is in an economic free fall, and unlike the federal government there’s no constitutional option for deficit spending or printing money. Governor Rounds lives in a world of hard choices. With his decision to end funding for the South Dakota Arts Council the Governor gave an obligatory nod to the importance of culture for our “quality of life”, but golly gee, “…we simply don’t have the money to provide for them.” There is a veil of objectivity in the Governor’s attitude. He didn’t want to do it. He had to do it.
The Governor is disingenuous. He knows better. Every study on tourism in the last twenty years has confirmed the importance of arts and culture as multipliers of the regional economy. Every study on education tells us that art and music improve the ability of young students to grasp math and language. These studies are well known. Our economic dependence on art is easily understood. Something else must be going on. What is it?
The problem is not that art is unimportant to civilization. The problem is that art is unimportant to Governor Rounds. We are saddled with his narrow view of what is important in life. We are saddled with his indifference. There is a slight of hand going on. Art is not a part of Governor Rounds’ life, so it is not essential to the economy. Now we come to a critical problem.