Harpers War on Art: The Myths Around Taxes

If, as I have, you've been following the online debates on the issue of Harper's cuts to the arts you will notice that Harpers supporters only really have one argument (framed in various ways). That argument is 'tax dollars'. I have already suggested that we may be able to do something to take it out of the government's hands but putting that aside for the moment: the tax dollar question is quite simply a refuge for people who are ignorant, unimaginative and bad at math.

The argument usually goes something like this:

"Sick and tired of watching my taxmoney go to pay for some garbage that one person sees as 'art' and almost everyone sees as just that, garbage.

If your product is good enough for the public to buy, then good for you. If you can't sell your product, then don't expect taxmoney to bail you out. "

(random quote taken as a sample from the CBC's comment section

First of all, the 'I'm a taxpayer' argument is tired, old, pointless and needs to be put to bed. We are all taxpayers and each of us could find something the government spends money on that we don't like or that we think could be done better - saying 'I don't want to pay for _____' is a pointless cyclical argument that leads nowhere. Yes you're a taxpayer, that means that you won't get arrested for tax evasion, congratulations.

Second, as I've pointed out before virtually all major Canadian industries are subsidized in some way, especially when it comes to exports. Arts and culture obviously provide something that defies math but, since this does not appear obvious to Harper's supporters let's look at some actual numbers.

According to the Board of Trade arts and culture, both directly and indirectly employ 1.1 million people, generate 84 billion in economic activity and accounts for 7.4% of GDP.

Arts and culture, according to the Canada Council employs "roughly the same number of jobs as agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, oil & gas and utilities combined".

According to the Government of Canada's website for Trade Routes Canada's cultural exports equal 5 billion dollars annually.

There are a number of ways we can look at these numbers but any way you look at it Canadians are getting alot of bang for their buck. If it helps, don't think of it as 40 million in arts subsidies, think of it as a 40 million dollar investment that returns (from exports alone) $125 for every dollar invested. That's a return on investment of 12,500% - which any banker will tell you, isn't too shabby. If that still doesn't help think of it this way: they're not your tax dollars - the government takes $4 per year (.25 cents per month) from the paycheque of everyone who makes their living for the arts - think of what it would cost the government if those 1.1 million people were suddenly unemployed and didn't pay taxes?

No matter how you want to look at it the math is indisputable. These subsidies are a huge money maker for Canada and are essential to the Canadian economy.

So, the people who favor this cut as far as I'm concerned do so because they dislike art and artists so much that they are willing to throw away thousands of jobs and do serious damage to the economy just as a way of lashing out at artists. Arts and culture give back far more than they take both culturally and economically and that is fact, not opinion.

On a side note: a tip of the cap to Newfoundland Premiere Danny Williams who has said that Newfoundland will make up the money cut by Harper so that their artists can continue to export.

And now, for some music

Holy Fuck - Lovely Allen