By Marilyn Lester***An Arts and Culture Trust Fund has been proposed by New Jersey Mayor Steven M. Fulop of Jersey City as a financially feasible way to ensure that the arts sector has the resources it needs to thrive, especially during periods of uncertainty. Fulop hopes the idea will be a template for other states to help their respective artists to continue to create and entertain. According to the Mayor, “its important to be investing in peoples’ creativity and to allow that part of young people to flourish.” 
Moreover, the idea for funding the Trust is a brilliant one: sustainable income would derive from property taxes. In this model, a maximum rate of $0.02 per $100 of assessed property value would be applied. Property tax revenues are not sensitive to business cycle conditions, which makes this concept especially sound and viable.
It’s about time that a proposal such as this one is put forward as legislation. Art and culture is an integral part of our economy and society. More governmental bodies across our nation should recognize and support this reality proactively. The United States is singular among many, if not most, nations of the world in not having a high level government entity to foster art and culture. Ministry of Cultures exist around the globe. Google it and you’ll be astounded.
Yours truly has long ranted (for as long as I can remember) about our country’s indifferent attitude toward supporting the arts. Programs that we do have, The National Endowment for the Arts, The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, departments of The Smithsonian Institution and the Library of Congress, for example, are pitifully underfunded and tragically, in economic downturns, are among the first to suffer financial cuts. Ditto for arts support in education; schools will cut arts programs first as a matter of course.
What message does this send about the importance of the arts? Not a very positive one.
Yet, time and again, it’s been demonstrated that the arts generate significant revenue. The Bureau of Economic Analysis released a study in 2020 showing that arts and cultural economic activity accounted for 4.5% of GDP, or $877.8 billion, in 2017. For each year between 2015 and 2017, it grew at a faster rate than other sectors—over 5% in 2016, for example. Beyond direct economic relevance, indirectly the arts provide broader benefits, such as attracting businesses, enhancing social capital, expanding educational opportunities, and boosting property values.
It’s the arts that build up civilizations and are among the very first things people turn to in times of crisis. The arts entertain but the arts also heal. They reflect beauty and truth and have the capacity to diffuse political polarization by one of its prime functions: to bring people together. The arts generate community and fellowship and can offer the opportunity to build bridges over common areas of interest. It’s no accident that the power of the arts to shape culture is dangerous to dictators. The suppression of the arts and artists is a level one activity in non-democratic regimes. 
To put a fine point on it, imagine living in a world without music, song, dance, paintings or plays. Pretty dismal. The arts are essential to feed our souls. In fact, studies have proven, according to Carrie Leana, Professor of Organizations and Management at the University of Pittsburgh, that “financial precarity has a corrosive effect on people’s cognitive and emotional functioning, and, consequently, their ability to perform up to their potential. For artists, this is a particular concern since the creative process arguably requires more cognitive and emotional effort than most any other type of work. Despite the caricature of the ‘starving artist,’ financial worry can hobble rather than enhance the creative process, to the detriment of not just the artists themselves, but to all of us who find inspiration in their work.”
The Arts and Culture Trust Fund in Jersey City acknowledges on a governmental level that arts organizations are often severely underfunded even in good economic times, and also recognizes the importance of the arts culturally and economically. Bravo.
It’s high time, therefore, for the United States to seriously and proactively acknowledge that art and culture matter as official, high-level government policy. Establishing a Cabinet-level position for Art and Culture would be a very relevant act that finally instills in our population that support of the arts is vital to our very existence.
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