Good point made by Robert Redford. “Ticket takers or electricians or actors — all the people connected with the arts are at risk just like everybody else is,” he said in an interview. His Sundance Film Festival brings in more the $60 million to Park City, Utah each year.

That’s only one example of how the arts help local economies.

With the struggle to preserve the $50 million annual funding to the NEA, provisions finally passed both House and Senate.

“We had the facts on our side,” said Representative Louise M. Slaughter, a New York Democrat who is co-chairwoman of the Congressional Arts Caucus. “If we’re trying to stimulate the economy, and get money into the Treasury, nothing does that better than art.”

New York Times Article: Saving Federal Arts Funds: Selling Culture as an Economic Force