Mr. Trump, don't cut Barrel of Monkeys and the Grant Park Orchestra

President Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Washington D.C. 20500

23 February 2017 

Dear President Trump,

I am writing today to ask you not to cut the funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which the New York Times reported on the 19^th of February.  I have been paying taxes for nearly 40 years and am most enthusiastic about the portion of my taxes that go to fund the arts.

I could tell you that the United States spends a miniscule amount on the arts – both in comparison to what we spend on other things (arts funding comprising less than one percent of the budget according to the Times article) and in comparison to other industrial nations.  Instead though, I would rather let the products of that funding speak for me. 

One of my favorite theater groups in Chicago is Barrel Of Monkeys, a group that takes the creative writing of Chicago Public School elementary students and turns that writing into a series of delightful short skits that make me laugh my guts out.  Similarly, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera, the free Grant Park Orchestra, and several of the city’s larger theaters draw funding from the NEA.  If you have never sat in the Pritzker Pavilion on a breezy summer night listening to the Grant Park Orchestra with Chicagoans from all walks of life, you have truly missed something. 

I know you have disparaged Chicago recently, but I think that the arts are one way that Chicago shines.  NEA grants allow these excellent organizations to reach more people with good and moving stories and music.  Why would you want to take that away from people?  To do so would be a mistake.

Please revise your budget and either keep the current levels of funding, or, if you really want to make the lives of Americans better, increase the funding.

Regards,

Bill Boerman-Cornell