NON PROFIT Art organizations recieving economic stimulus funds???.....Key word here NON PROFIT....how does this stimulate the economy?? Complete waste of TAXPAYER money , just more funding of the Gov't's Pet Liberal projects......Economic Stimulus....what a joke.

Another million taxpayer dollars down the crapper. How many new employees does the Maine Arts Commission have just to dispense this free money? Will they join the ranks of the unemployed when the money runs out? Anyone who feels that tax money should go to arts should simply spend their own money on art they appreciate. An artist is just another person trying to make a living. If that person doesn't produce art that real people will pay for then that artist should change what they do or get a real job. Art is important to society but it should not be paid for with tax money. All that does is encourage bad art. Consider the $330,000.00 we paid for pictures of doggies at the 3 new Turnpike rest stops. Anyone with a $50.00 digital camera could easily have taken those images. At least the West(South?)Gardiner rest area carries a variety of good Maine art. Providing a venue for the sale of art is one thing - supporting bad art is useless. Will there be an audit to see how the money is spent?

Send the money back!

I just can not get over this story....I mean this is the gov't's idea of spending money in a CRISIS?

I like the comment from Inland that demands artist get a real job. Of course we could never consider art as a real job could we? Surely people like Stephen King do not have real jobs. I bet every time Inl;and boasts about Maine the first thing he thinks of is its famous people, like Stephen King, or John Travolta, Glenn Close and even William Wegman, not too many other PROFESSIONS that come to mind we boast about our state are there?

A CAREER in the arts is the same as a career in any other field. It takes long hours, dedication and skill that others do not have. The fact that others cannot appreciate this fact is simply sad.

Of course we would rather the money keep going to those coorporate giants you love so much like GM and CHrysler. They have really done so great with their stimulus funding haven't they? It is nice to hear about those corporate bonuses every day. But a few thousand to arts organizations. That is a travesty...

Of course this last Fourth of July, none of us looked at the Statue of Liberty and realised an artist created it.

If you all think that there is no value in art, when your child comes home full of excitement and gives you that picture they spent all day drawing...crumple it up and throw it in the trash...do not put it on your refridgerator, as you do not value art and the message it conveys. You despise it and should be honest with your chuild. Tell them not to waste Government Taxpayer money with this nonsense in education. Next time you can put your chuild's algebra up on the refridgerator...as that is what you think is important...don't you?

Of course not, you simply do not understand the impact of art in your own life. Do you look around your house and see pictures on the walls? Do you watch television with all those actors? Do you have designed cars, curtains, rugs, furniture, appliances and so much more? Of course you do, but who do you think makes these things attractive to you?

ThinkMore

I do know what real art is and I actually appreciate it. When Stephen King made his millions he didn't do it with Government grants. He did it by writing books people were will ing to buy with their own money. Why can't you see the difference? Career artists actually make a living. The groups and individuals who got these grants are not career artists. They are leeches on society who can't make art that anyone wants to spend their hard-earned money on. The Folk Festival is advertised as "free: Well if you dump $50,000 of tax money in to it then it's no longer free. Tax money comes from taxpayers, many of whom will never have the opportunity to go to the festival. It is worthwhile? Certainly, but it should be entirely supported by those who plan to go to it, not the taxpaying public and their grandchildren.

I don't have a problem with teaching art in the schools and never said I do. I have an issue with giving money to groups who then squander it. I belonged to such a group and left because of how that money was being spent. So for the record, I'm an artist who doesn't need Government money and never did. My work sells and pays the bills. If yours doesn't sell then you are not making a viable product. Why is that so hard to understand?

This article is a riot!!! I haven't laughed so much in a long time... So, this article is telling us how wonderful it is these organizations got money - approximately $100,000 in total. Hmmmm, let's see - none of the individual amounts is enough to provide a decent annual salary for even one person. How is this going to create jobs? And then, let's not forget how much it will cost us. According to the GAO, our Federal government runs approximately 20% - 30% overhead costs on everything it does. So, to get $100,000 from the Feds, taxpayers have to send approximately $125,000 to pay for that (figuring the best-case 20% overhead). But it gets even better - we don't have the money, so we have to borrow it at about 3.5%, so REALLY you'll be paying considerably MORE than $125,000 to get that paltry $100,000. And what is the funniest part of all - you are bragging about getting $100,000 (OK, maybe $200,000) OUT OF OVER A TRILLION DOLLARS!!!!!!!!! So we will trash our national economy - but it's GREAT, since arts organizations in Maine will get a whopping $200,000 - which won't help the economy one bit, and we'll be paying back with overhead AND interest to boot!

I think the arts deserves our support. How can you put a value on art? Art brings so much joy into our lives, why would people want to squander that?

During the New Deal, funding of the arts was a big part of the program, and I bet alot of the artists and artwork that we love today that developed during that time might not have developed, had we not funded it.

Open your minds people.

Kudos to you Inland for your success, but it's a wonder that you wouldnt have alittle more empathy.

Never thought I'd hear of a republican artist (assuming).

blueskiesaboveme: I agree with you about the importance of art in our world. What a dull and colorless place it would be without the arts......music, theatre, dance, art museums....

I just saw a wonderful segment on the nightly news about this 8 yr old girl in Kansas who is quite a good artist already. She wanted to help poor children around the world and by selling her art (made into cards,etc), she has already raised thousands of dollars. Already the proceeds of her art sales have built a few houses for orphaned children in Africa. She is going to continue with this all her life she said. She loves being an artist and it has inspired her to use it to help others. How great is that! There certainly is a place for art in this world.

Good comments, ThinkMore.

See in this article that funding was given to the Bangor Folk Festival as well. That 3 day festival is a big deal in Maine; people from all over Maine and other states come to it and look forward to it all year.

How and what do we know about any ancient civilization? It is the art they left behind. Art is what gives voice to a culture. It is the vehicle through which we teach and learn. The sheer ignorance of those who wish to cut art funding because it's "useless" amazes me. Get a "real job?" To what do you refer? Wall Street? Mortgage Banker? Professional Athlete? College Administrator? Politician? Geez! Wake up, people. Try for just a minute to see the big picture.

Folk Festival-my point goes to honesty (and yes, I mostly vote Republican and have gotten that respone often). The Festival is billed as "free". Something supported by any money from any Governmental agency should not be considered free. Just be honest with the public and say who's paying for it. Of course i support it - that's why I put money in the cans they carry around during the event, so I don't care to support it additionally by my tax dollars. They will get one or the other - not both "donations".

And did your "wonderful 8 year-old" get Government money to create what she's selling to raise money for her cause? If so, then it diminishes the intrinsic value of her work. If not then that makes my point even more clearly. If you can't sell to anyone but the Government you're not an artist, you're a servent of your leaders and that's not a good thing.

I'm not convinced that the Government money spent during the New Deal was a good thing either. But that's just my opinion and for a little while longer I think I'm allowed to have it.

more wasted money damm we are not going to survive if we cant pull our heads out of somewhere and relize there is no money there they are jsut printing it and when it falls it will fall hard and we the people will be on the bottom of the pile.

Inland: Can't you read? This 8 yr old in Kansas got no government funding. It was all her own idea. It was an individual thing.....someone who is inspired to help others. Maybe a concept you do not get. Geez.....what is your problem.....you sure take things out of context.

I just hope these NON PROFIT(which means TAX EXEMPT) Arts organizations get together to with their stimulus funds "wish list", that they are mindful of the fact that this generation of taxpayers, the next genration of taxpayers and a generation of taxpayers NOT EVEN BORN YET are saddled with paying back the debt of this stimulus money..........NO amount of art can justify that in my mind.

chersully2000-perhaps before you react you might read an entire post. I pointed out that if this alleged (I say alleged because a brief internet search found nothing about it) child did it without Government assistance that showed that Government assistance wasn't needed. People should do what they feel is the right thing to do in each situation they find themselves in. Instead, all too often, the first thing anyone says is "can we get a grant for this". I don't remember the last time I was in a meeting of any kind, regardless of the organization, where this phrase did not come up. We've lost the will to do and fund what's right with our own money, instead expecting the general public to fund our dreams. Individual responsibility as flwon the coop and group-think is now becoming the norm.

Please send your over flow of money to my house that way i can sit on my fat sss night and day .And not have to work .Early retirement like the rest of the bums in this state.Waste money it grows on the trees of tax payers.

Inland: Once again, I saw it on the national nightly news. Just a positive story of someone child doing good. Nothing more than that. Let's not make more out of it than it was. It was a very inspiring true life story to many. I really have nothing more to say about it. Maybe others (not you obviously) saw it and so know what it was all about. You and I think differently and talking about different things entirely here.

Once again, there was no grant involved with this young girl. She (with the approval of her mother) did this on her own, from Kansas.

Bye.

Then what exactlly does it have with the discussion at hand, which is about the Government handing out money to organizations that purport to assist artists? I didn't see anything about your story on TV. I don't watch TV.

There is no money so it should not be spent. Pretty clear to me.