National Endowment for the Arts in peril

A significant topic for discussion at the February 7^th meeting of the MFS Board was the news reported last month that the new administration in Washington is intending to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts. (The National Endowment for the Humanities is also said to be on the chopping block.) These government entities provide support for creative activities that are uniquely American and this funding also serves to make art more available to the entire U.S.population. The NEA’s budget was 0.006% of total federal spending in 2016—about 1/40^th of what Germany spends—but the impact on arts organizations, here in the Delaware Valley and around the country, would be profound if this funding was eliminated.

The MFS Board urges all in the Philadelphia region who value the many artistic endeavors that contribute to the vitality of our community to let your senators and congress-people how you feel. In addition, there’s an on-line petition you can sign that has already received 175,000 signatures as of this writing:

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/pledge-continue-funding-national-endowment-arts-and-national-endowment-humanities