“Mr. Speaker and members of the House: The Mackinac Center has done some excellent work on why government and arts don’t mix. Here is some of what they have learned: Art subsidy supporters often argue that public funding of the arts is needed to support artists and art patrons who would otherwise not have the resources to enjoy art. The truth is evidence suggests that government art subsidies flow from the poor and middle classes to wealthier citizens, and not vice versa. Consider just one example. In 1998, the State of Michigan appropriated over $21 million for ‘arts and cultural affairs.’ The money was distributed to 38 of Michigan’s 83 counties, according to Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs documents obtained by Michigan Privatization Report. Of the initial 38 grant recipients, the county of Alpena received the smallest grant of $2,500. The largest grant, a hefty $12,944,237 (or 61% of the total) went to Wayne County. One result of this grant process is that wealth is often taxed from lower-income Michigan workers and families and given for the enjoyment of higher-income workers and families. Wayne County, for example, has a population of 2,127,000 and a per-capita income of $22,900. Alpena, in contrast, has a population of 30,638 and a per-capita income of $20,000. As a ratio of grant funds to population, Wayne County received back from the state $6.09 per citizen while Alpena will get back only $0.80 per citizen. Supporters of government art subsidies should explain why it makes sense to tax people who do not voluntarily patronize the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) for the purposes of subsidizing those who do patronize the DSO. Art and culture are too important to be left to the whims of politics. Michigan should rebuild the wall of separation between art and state by eliminating state funding of the arts.”