At 13:32 4/15/97 -0600, you wrote:
>Eric,
>
>Do you by chance do you work in a wealthy, self supporting, financially
>sound museum with an ungodly endowment, pristine collections, vast storage
>and exhibit space, unlimited educational resources, fully funded travel
>budget, and more staff than you know what to do with?  You must,

Henry,

No, I work for a government agency which at this time shall remain nameless
because it is irrelevant. However, in my position I am able to see firsthand
the waste the goes on inside the government.

because no
>one in this profession would advocate that the government pull *all*
>funding from the support of culture IN ALL ITS FORMS.  Furthermore, no one
>believes that the private sector will replace the billions it takes to
>provide the access to education and culture(s), which lies at the center of
>any museum's mission.  Granted, much funding comes from the private sector,
>but one would be extremely naive to assume that the private funding will
>replace more than a portion of what is provided through government grants
>and aid.

I respectfully disagree. As I said before, I am not so naive as to believe
that if the NEA and NEH were abolished taxpayers would see an immediate
refund. I simply advocated that, in principle, that is what should happen.
If those agencies were abolished (or any gov. agency for that matter) some
other  agency would find a way to get the money whether it was actually
needed or not. Sadly, that's the nature of the beast. If our government was
reduced to its proper size, and I know it never will be, I think you would
find people out there who would be a lot more generous than you realize. I
further believe that when the private sector receives money freely (a la
taxpayers), they too are more inclined to waste it. On the other hand, if
they have to work for it through public education and fundraising efforts
they will stretch their dollars as far as they can.


>As  As a taxpayer, I am
>rather proud to pay for the advancement of learning.

As am I. What I am opposed to is the government forcefully taking my money
and deciding for me what is best.


 I helped fund those
>cultural programs, and no one is going to pull MY money away from them.
>Sorry, but it ain't gonna happen.  No on my watch.
>
>Cheers,
>HBC

>*******   Life is a trip. Enjoy the ride!   ***********
>

Let us not agree to disagree. For if we did that there would be no point in
any further discussion. Instead, argue passionately for what you believe,
yet be civilized about it! (and you were Henry!)

Erik Mansoor
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