Vote yes?

Is The Clean Water, Land & Legacy Amendment good for the arts or just messy legislation that will give government and donors an excuse to give less? A non-vote is a “No” vote so it’s important to make a choice!

On the surface, more money for arts sounds simply great, but it’s an artist’s job to look deeper than the surface, and there’s nothing simple about constitutions and budgets. I’ve heard a lot of questions and concerns from artists (and fisherman) alike about this amendment, and thought it might be useful to find some answers.

Because this is a proposed amendment to our state constitution, every vote, even an abstaining vote, counts. If you vote on November 4th – wait, what am I saying? When you vote on November 4th, if you don’t check either the Yes or No box for this amendment, your vote is still counted, and it’s counted as a No.

What the hell are you talking about?
This year, we will vote on an amendment to our state constitution to increase the state sales tax by 3/8 of a percent (about 38¢ on every $100) for the next 25 years. The majority of the funds (over 80%) would fund protection, enhancement and restoration of all kinds of outdoors stuff. The rest would fund the arts. Which makes bedfellows of environmentalists, fishermen, hunters, and artists. That alone is fun to think about. Perhaps there is a musical waiting to happen right there.

How much money do we get?
Current estimates are $59 million per year.

How much does this cost Minnesotans?
The average Minnesotan household would pay about $1 more per week in sales tax.

Suspicious question #1. Wait, who gets the money? Do they just divvy it up between the M.I.A., the Orchestra, and the Guthrie over a poker game at the Minneapolis Club?
While it’s not written directly into the language of the amendment, everyone seems certain that the money will be given to the State Arts Board, who will distribute it as they see fit. Mostly likely they’d pass about $20 million of the funds on to the Regional Arts Councils who fund arts in specific areas of Minnesota. So specific distribution of funds would probably be similar to historical State Arts Board funding. A portion of the funds is expected to go specifically to arts education, which currently gets no direct state funding at all.

Suspicious question #2. Wait, does this mean they will just slash the state budget for the Arts Board instead?
Well, the folks who wrote the amendment seem to have thought of this because part of the amendment does say, “The dedicated money under this section must supplement traditional sources of funding for these purposes and may not be used as a substitute.” But even if this seems a bit vague or difficult to enforce come state budgeting time, it’s worthwhile to consider that currently the state budget only includes $10 million for the arts, and this amendment would designate approximately $59 million. So even if they cut arts funding entirely, this would be an increase. Another way to look at constitutionally designated funds is that they would be much more reliable than state budget funds (which were slashed 32% during our 2003 state deficit).

Suspicious question #3. Wait, isn’t amending the constitution a pretty messy approach?
Some have said this is a sneaky workaround that would be better addressed by electing better representatives. Yeah, I’d vote for the senator or governor who mentions funding the arts even just once, but I’m still waiting for that to happen. That aside, apparently amending a state constitution isn’t nearly as big a deal as amending the U.S. constitution. Minnesota’s constitution has been amended, on average, about once every year and a half since 1960. Some say that a constitution should be reserved exclusively for stating our rights, not legislating tax policy. Yeah, in principle that seems right. In practice, it hasn't worked that way here (or in many other states). Frankly,principles aside, as the obituaries for failing theater companies grows and grows, and all my artist friends look more and more tired, I just want the damn money.

Won’t this mean that individual donors will say, “Hey, I’ve already supported the arts with my sales tax money? Why are you asking me for more money? Go away!”
Well, they might. But personally, my experience with donors is that they’re pretty savvy about what does and does not get funded by the government, and that they give with a spirit of generosity and passion for specific groups and causes. Most of the people who would say, “I gave at the department store” probably wouldn’t have been a donor anyway. That’s just my speculation though.

OK, now that I know an abstaining vote is still a vote, I’m feeling some responsibility here, but I’m still suspicious. How do I learn more for myself?

Should I really bother to vote this year?
What the hell is wrong with you? Of course you should! Or just move to China or California or something. Geez.