Alternet - In the United States, government expenditure for the arts remains minuscule when compared to the amount of money the government spends in other areas of the public sector. Federal funding to the National Endowment for the Arts, created by Congress to offer support and funding for art projects, remains static at $146.2 million a year, with a measly annual budget of $158 million.
To put that into context, the government has disbursed over $245 billion bailing out banks and financial institutions. The National Science Foundation’s annual budget sits around the $7 billion mark, despite the fact that research shows art studies close the gap between high- and low-income students and not only improve numerical skills but promote creativity and social development.
In 2011, art funding in the United States reached a record low following the financial crisis. The 2013 National Arts Index revealed art spending made up just 0.28 percent of the government’s non-military budget in 2011, with local government spending also dropping by 21 percent over that time. The percentage of American households donating private funds to the arts also declined by almost 9 percent.
What other countries spend
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