The Salt Lake County Commission has approved an initiative to "allow" voters to increase taxes to fund "arts." A referendum will be held on June 8.
It is interesting how fast this has happened. The elite and elected must feel taxpayers are too ignorant to choose how their money is to be spent and so off to the polls on June 8. School's out, families are on vacation. A full court press by the media, a quick slam dunk and some more tax dollars are available to the elite.This measure is the Salt Lake County Endowment for the Arts of Salt Lake City. It has all the trappings of the National Endowment for the Arts. Yes, there are some big name beneficiaries in the package. Approximately $6 million will be available to the Utah Symphony, Hogle Zoo and Hansen Planetarium. Many of their products are worthy of support.
But the $6 million is far more than their current needs. I'll bet their needs expand rapidly to use all that's made available and then they still won't have enough.
I want to choose where my discretionary "art" dollar goes. I try real hard not to spend even a dollar to bring trash in my home. I don't want even a dollar spent to bring trash into my neighborhood. Today, I make the call on what's trash and what is not.
Once "public" money is used, I can only hope it will be suited to the values that I choose and not for the values that elected officials and their anointed friends espouse. The odds of keeping trash out of the neighborhood go from good to lousy when government spends my money.
I'll vote "no" for increased taxes for "arts."
Allen Elggren
Salt Lake City