To the editor:

The really bad part about Brownback cutting the $600K Kansas Arts Commission budget, is not the loss of “art” but where that money will be spent. Will it go to help seniors or special needs kids or provide health care for women? No. Will it go to promote space tourism, one of the gov’s favorites? Yes. Will it go as subsidies (welfare) to ethanol farmers? Yes.

Will the arts survive? Yes and yes again.

There always will and always has been art, ever since Adam made that cheesy snakeskin belt for Eve back in the day. And if you don’t think the “arts” can survive without government help, you need to get out more. On any given night, you can find artists of all sorts making art in our communities and without help from the government.

What they do get is help from local businesses who make huge commitments to support “art.” And I might add that many or most of these performing artists do not ask for and probably would not accept a dime from Brownback.

So, if energy is to be spent on this issue, I would suggest that it go to support the artists that exist in our communities and the businesses which support them rather than fighting to re-fund the arts commission.

The legacy the present state government is going to leave on this state is going to be ugly and smell for a long time. And time will pass and the Arts Commission will return — unless the Koch brothers figure out a way to keep Brownback in power forever.