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OPINION: Forget about the fripperies when the basics go begging
(Virginian-Pilot, The (Norfolk, VA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Dec. 7--Hang on to what's left in your wafer-thin wallets, folks, because culture vultures are coming for it.
Last week, the Virginia Beach City Council handed the Virginia Musical Theatre a $200,000 no interest loan.
In her final performance as Lady Bountiful, Mayor Meyera Oberndorf expressed passionate support for this group that brings Broadway-like productions to the Beach.
The drumbeat for public dough for the arts quickly spread to Norfolk.
Two days after the VMT's big payday, the Virginia Symphony asked Norfolk for a $1 million bailout.
To his credit, Mayor Paul Fraim balked. Sort of. He suggested a better route would be a $500,000 loan, from the Norfolk Economic Development Authority. This arrangement cleverly sidesteps City Council approval and inevitable cranky comments from the hoi polloi. It also doesn't involve taxpayer money, plus this loan would charge interest.
Yet, even the executive director of the authority admits that the symphony, which accumulated $1.5 million in debt in the past year, according to The Pilot, couldn't find a similar loan anywhere else.
"We're the lender of last resort," sighed Rod Woolard, who notes that Norfolk's vibrant arts community attracts business investment.
But what's next, I asked. Will the Virginia Opera come knocking on the city's door?
"I wouldn't be surprised," Woolard replied. "I'm always worried about precedent setting."
Look, the symphony is a worthy group. The orchestra works with schools, and the musicians live locally. They're our friends and neighbors. They, too, pay taxes.
Still, any assumption that the public has a duty to fund the arts community is faulty.
If local troupes, groups and orchestras can't support themselves on ticket sales, the marketplace is sending them a signal. They simply can't expect cash-strapped taxpayers to pick up the slack.
This is especially true when the economy seems to be, well, crashing. Municipalities are facing sharp drops in revenue just as cultural groups are drowning in red ink. But before city officials rush in, they should think about how they'll justify layoffs, tax hikes or severely curtailed city services after they've thrown money -- yes, even economic development dough -- at arts groups that serve a relatively small percentage of the population.
Before anyone starts screaming that I'm an uncultured cretin -- and they'd be right, I am -- I salute the talent, hard work and sacrifice of the musicians of the Virginia Symphony.
But if the recession gets deeper and lasts much longer, the reality will be lots of empty seats at performances. Members of the arts community -- like the business community -- will go under. Despite bailout mania, there's nothing the public can or should do about it. Welcome to a rotten economy.
A frustrated taxpayer in Virginia Beach expressed it best this week, when he e-mailed one question:
"What do I have to do to get a tax break," he wondered, "buy a flute?"
Looks like it.
Kerry Dougherty, (757) 446-2306, kerry.dougherty@cox.net
To see more of the The Virginian-Pilot, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.pilotonline.com.
Copyright (c) 2008, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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