Budget hits at our heritage, culture and art

EDITORIAL: Governor’s slashing of arts

and historic funding would be devastating
   Politicians seldom have a better chance at writing their legacy than when they detail their spending priorities with a budget.
   Be it at the Statehouse, White House or the mayor’s house, that’s when the truly tough decisions are made. Every program and every project adds cost that often can’t be met.
   We’re not surprised that Gov. James E. McGreevey’s budget began with another $5 billion shortfall, and we’re not surprised that major cuts in spending have to be made.
   But we are truly surprised — no, shocked — that the governor’s budget for 2003 not only cuts spending for arts, cultural and historic programs, the budget eliminates it completely.
   That’s right, the budget doesn’t cut into the $31.7 million spent last year in support of arts grants, historic preservation and cultural development, the budget drops it to zero.
   If the budget passes as introduced, this would mean New Jersey will spend more to protect and clean the Howard Stern Rest Area than it spends for the Princeton Battlefield.
   We can’t think of a more insulting state of spending priorities than that.
   But why should this be important to readers of the Hillsborough Beacon?
   It matters because of the immense impact we all receive from the spending for arts, culture and history.
   While roads and schools are certainly more vital to maintaining economic development, and health care is an essential expenditure, the dollars spent in support of the arts returns on the investment far more than nearly any other.
   And local schools and citizens are the direct beneficiaries of arts grants. Many local residents participate in and enjoy local productions at the Somerset Valley Theater, a recipient of New Jersey Arts Council Grants, but the curtain could fall on those offerings without continued funding.
   Several times each year, local students enjoy presentations by groups funded through the Historical Commission and Arts Council, but those programs will end.
   Local musicians in the Central Jersey Symphony Orchestra and the Raritan Symphonic Band can fold up their music stands and go home — no support for the arts here.
   What’s so surprising by this budget plan is that this spending is such a small component of the state’s budget — at 1.3 percent of state spending, it’s barely above a pittance in the $24 billion budget.
   Many expect the funding will be reinstated later, either by the legislature or by the governor, who will try to claim a political advantage by doing so.
   But we encourage residents not to let the funding be jeopardized and to call Gov. McGreevey’s office ((609) 292-6000), and our local representatives to object to cutting the arts and historic budgets.
   A recent poll by students at Quinnipiac College in Connecticut asked New Jersey residents how they liked life in New Jersey and most said they didn’t.
   One almost shudders to think what New Jersey residents would say if we lost our heritage of culture and art.