Focus on the Budget: Arts

The Louisiana State Budget for the 2009-2010 fiscal year is, by now, old news. In one of the most controversial moves in his tenure, Governor Bobby Jindal has proposed a cut of $1.3 billion from the previous budget. This is just one of the many unfortunate consequences of the global recession. This post is the beginning of a new, continual series to examine the new budget and put the effects into perspective. This first installment is focused on, ostensibly, the most draconian of all the Governor’s cuts: the arts.

When a tourist comes to this state, they do so to experience our rich culture. It’s definitely su generis to Louisiana and what we pride ourselves in. The arts are just one of the many indelible aspects of our culture and to harm the arts in any way is an egregious act—except during economic downturns. Arguably, this is the only excuse one can imagine to this iniquity. However, is this as appaling as many believe? The answer isn’t as clear as it may seem.

The current proposal cuts funding to the Louisiana Decentralized Fund. The DAF “provides a system for funding arts and cultural projects in every parish of the state.” (DAF web site) It does this by allocating small grants ranging from $500 to $10,000 to roughly 400 programs across the state. (Alexandria Town Talk) The cuts total about $2.5 million dollars—a drop from about $3 million to about $500,000. In comparison to the estimated $30 million cut that LSU is expected to see, this may seem small. However, as WWL points out, this is an 83% budget cut from the previous year. To put this in perspective, the Greater Baton Rouge Area alone received about $600,000 in funds. Splitting this amongst Louisiana’s 64 parishes would mean that each parish would receive less than $8,000. If you compare this dollar-to-dollar to previous years’ funding for our parish per capita, this is a 98% decline in funding ($1.16 vs. $0.02). (430,317 population estimate from Census)

Economically, does it make sense to cut funding to the arts? The DAF quotes many statistics on their site claiming the benefits of arts funding. Among them are lower dropout rates, higher SAT scores, and “$166.2 billion in economic activity.” It’s unclear how this affects Baton Rouge, or even Louisiana, although Baton Rouge’s Community Fund for the Arts claims it has raised nearly $9 million since 1985. (BRCFA) In Baton Rouge, it claims that last year local arts and culture organizations contributed $7.4 million to the local economy by employing 450 people. (BRCFA) To be fair, though, the BRCFA states that “Nationally, 80% of all giving to the arts is provided by individual contributions.”

Many have blasted Jindal recently for these cuts. But, they don’t see the full picture. (This seems to be a recurring problem for people criticizing our governor.) The problem is that the Louisiana Constitution places legal restraints on what Jindal can cut. Specifically, $5.3 billion of the state’s $9.7 billion operating budget. This leaves only $4.2 billion that he can legally work with. In these protected funds—33 by the Constitution; 358 by other laws—, Jindal can only cut 5% over a two-year period. He’s asked for the legislature to permit him and future governors more discretion when deficits are inevitable, but for now he’s stuck with cutting things like health, education and arts. He has done this, much to the chagrin of many; it’s unfortunate, but there’s nothing else he can legally do. (NOLA)

Ultimately, what does this mean for the arts? It’s fairly dubious from the evidence presented. As a frequent patron of the arts, I’m hoping that my contribution as well as others’ will help the local community to continue to thrive. With the recent inaugural season of Opera Louisiane and the perennial Baton Rouge Little Theatre and Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, as well as the close proximity of the wonderful programs in New Orleans, it’s doubtful that there will be any lack of arts for the truly cosmopolitan. It’s fairly obvious that Jindal is a capable governor and I suspect that he’ll do everything within his power to ameliorate this situation. However, one thing is certain: You should contact your legislature and plead your opinion to them.

[Thanks to my friend Jade Th'ng to alerting me of this situation and Taylor Huckaby for clarifying Jindal's legal purview.]