The Art of Governor Bobby Jindal
by Stephen Sabludowsky (excerpt)

BAYOU BUZZ

Can Louisiana afford not to help “fund the arts”?

By now, many of us in Louisiana know that Governor Bobby Jindal’s executive budget slashes and burns arts and arts education by 83%.

I realize that “the Arts” do not fall to the level of waste such as “volcano monitoring” here in Louisiana, but, what is Louisiana without its art and cultural industries?

In his summary of the executive budget, Jindal said, “Just like any family or business living within its means, a tighter budget for state government represents not just a challenge to live within our means, but an opportunity to think strategically, prioritize what is essential, and plan ahead by pursuing reforms and innovations that will strengthen our state for years to come.”

(B)ased upon a study in 2004--that for every state tax dollar spent on the cultural economy, $5.86 returns to the Louisiana treasury. So, in reality, we must look at our priorities and determine what type of state we want Louisiana to be.

(U)nfortunately, from now on, every decision that Governor Jindal makes will be colored by his national aspirations where he appears to desire a national forum. His national followers disdain funding arts. Meanwhile, Louisiana, the state which hired him to be Governor, suffers.

Governor Jindal just doesn’t get it. He says he wants digital media, movie, music and live performance industries. He says he wants to attract and retain the young and the brightest, yet he is scaring away those who will create the businesses associated with the new economy

Without reasonable and legitimate art funding, the bright future for Louisiana wanes becomes hues of gray, as we recede into our black past. Louisiana’s very foundation is built upon art and culture. We must march forward to the colorful future of the talented, not the putrid tones of the self-political.

Picture: The work of the famous Louisiana artist George Rodrigue (http://www.georgerodrigue.com/)