:: walterindenver ::

:: Monday, January 06, 2003 ::

Charity Begins at Home

Diane Carman's Sunday column explains how Denver area voters are better than others in Colorado because we steal more from our neighbors.

Sunday, January 05, 2003 - This past week, Colorado achieved yet another dubious distinction as the worst state in America for public support of the arts. We spend 26 cents a year per capita on the arts. And that's before the legislature meets to hack another $80 million from the overall budget.
We also rank near the bottom in support for higher education, elementary and secondary education, libraries, indigent health care, mental health programs and a whole range of public institutions.
As a state, we aim low. Then we start cutting.
But not all of Colorado has been so miserly. For 15 years, voters in the Denver area have consistently supported public investment to enhance our quality of life, improve the state's economy and attract private investment.
Without us, Colorado would be a much different place. Picture Alabama with snow.

Heh, nice dig at Alabama.

Of course, Colorado residents support the arts financially at a rate much higher than 26 cents a head. Either that or I paid for 120 years worth last time I went to the symphony. In Carman's world, private money doesn't count. Denver's public arts funding supports a very expensive Center for Performing Arts that serves as a playground for the well heeled in the metro area. A subsidy for the entertainment of the wealthy, if you please. Colorado state government is in a budget crunch, and cuts have to be made somewhere. This seems a good place to start.

:: Walter 8:41 AM [+] ::
...