$50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts????
Normally Soul-Patrol could be expected to be in favor of more government
funding for the arts. However we do not think that this money (which has
to be borrowed from China) is a good use of Economic Stimulus funding.
Hopefully when the bill (passed yesterday by the US House of
Representatives) goes to the US Senate this provision along with others
(and there are many) that do not provide direct economic stimulus will
be removed.
I realize that President Obama is popular. I realize that Black folks
are still in a state of euphoria over his election. In fact some of yall
think that “Jesus has returned.”
However if he doesn’t put people back to work ASAP, my prediction is
that he will be impeached before the end of 2009.
Hell something is wrong when an economic stimulus package is passed in
the US House of Representatives and at the same time you have
heavy-machinery maker Caterpillar saying it will cut 20,000 jobs.
Right now I am hoping that President Obama is “crazy like a fox” and
knows that Senate Republican & Democrats will band together as a
“bipartisan unit” to re-write this bill so that it will actually infuse
& stimulate the US economy in the short term, to prevent an outbreak of
even more poverty & homelessness for American families.
However I also fear the worse…
If President Obama doesn’t know what to do at this point then I would
suggest that someone take him to a toy store and show him some Tonka
trucks, some Erector sets, some Train sets, , some Hot Wheels, some
Leggo blocks & some Lincoln Logs (since he likes Lincoln so damn much),
to provide a few ideas on just what needs to be in an economic stimulus
package…
I am all for increased government funding for the arts.
However, if this economic stimulus is a failure, President Obama won’t
just be the first Black President. He is also going to be the first
President who is impeached in his first year of office. Families are
hurting and if this doesn’t work and work in the short term, I promise
you that this summer we will be seeing pictures of homelessness &
poverty from every city/suburb across the United States that will remind
you of New Orleans right after Katrina.
IMHO there shouldn’t be one dime of money in this package that isn’t
directly related to short term/temporary economic relief for people with
the notion of infusing capital into what is currently a stagnant
economy.
And if you think this has nothing to do with music, guess again.
Have you ever tried to sell a CD/mp3 file or a concert ticket to someone
who has just been evicted from their home??
—————————————-
Bob Davis
earthjuice@prodigy.net
Bob Davis Appears on Earwax Digital Blogs courtesy of Soul Patrol.net
