Nick Gillespie on WNYC's Soundcheck at 2PM ET, Discussing Arts Funding. Update: Now With More Nick-is-Like-Hitler Comments!

I'll be on Soundcheck, WNYC's radio show about music, discussing public funding of the arts in the midst of a recession.

Go here for more info, including how to listen via the Interwebs.

Update: Now with Hitler analogies, courtesy of listeners:

Nick's arguments were weak and his general way of expressing his ideas was particularly unpleasant. I wonder how he came to form such distorted views of the role of Art in society,and why if he claims to have dedicated his life to study literature he ends up sounding suspiciously like a frustrated artist.History has shown that failed artists could be very dangerous and bitter towards the rest of humanity.To Hear him was frankly…Scary.

Read the comments here.

Comments

[Jennifer]

No worse than American urban legends: if a mass murderer is locked in an asylum for the criminally insane and then loses his hand in a tragic accident, the state will replace his hand with a sharp, shiny hook just in time for him to escape the asylum and roam lovers' lanes looking for randy teens to butcher.

[Jennifer]

Wait, what the hell? I know perfectly damned well I posted this in the "urban legends" thread.

Freakin' Reason server squirrels.

[DJF]

I believe that those who want to fund art should fund it and those who don't shouldn't fund it. I should not be forced to fund other peoples idea of art.

[Alan Vanneman]

"...public funding of the arts in the midst of a recession."

Public funding of the arts in the midst of a recession? Zounds! Firing people in the midst of a recession. Yeah, that'll help.

Those people who put on piano recitals at the Smithsonian, the guys who move the pianos around at the Smithsonian, the guards at the National Gallery, the cleaning staff at the National Gallery, we should fire all those people and that will help us get out of the recession?

Meanwhile, "Reason" is running ads from Boeing advocating increased government spending (on Boeing tankers), which "will create new U.S. jobs."

[mitch]

What would help is if the state hired all the unemployed people to help move around pianos; hell, hire them to play the pianos! We could have full employment in no time by simply using public funds to hire everybody to work in the arts!

[Seward]

Public funding of the arts in most cases means subsidizing the things rich people like and could and would pay for if the state didn't provide it. Basically rich people lobbied for this as a means to pass the costs on to everyone; call it another form of wealthfare.

[Gene Berkman]

If we did not have to pay taxes for the National Gallery etc, we could invest the money in private business which creates better jobs.

[P Brooks]

We should smash all the pianos!

Won't someone think of the piano makers' guild?

[sage]

Those comments are pretty brutal. Lots of them saying "well I don't want to pay for wars either." Which is closer to a proper function of government?

[Ken Shultz]

"...why if he claims to have dedicated his life to study literature he ends up sounding suspiciously like a frustrated artist."

It's funny, 'cause I've actually known my share of frustrated artists, and it was only the truly untalented ones who ended up sounding like they knew no one would ever pay them for anything they did--so the government should.

[Bob]

"History has shown that failed artists could be very dangerous and bitter towards the rest of humanity.To Hear him was frankly...Scary."
Nice that could have started with let me be clear....

[OMG]

"History has shown that failed artists could be very dangerous and bitter towards the rest of humanity."

Oh yeah, Hitler didn't have a cool leather jacket, so STFU.

[Enyap]

Jesus Christ, what a bunch of entitled hipster fuckwits in the comment section. I know it a relatively tiny part of overall government spending, but the absolutely frivolous nature of art funding combined with the insufferable douchebaggery of it's supporters make it such anger inducing issue.

[JW]

Read the comments here.

No. That makes me weep for humanity.