End the National Endowment for the Arts

The NEA provides grants to museums, symphony orchestras, dance companies, theater groups, literary organizations, and state and regional arts agencies through small-scale funding under the banner of expanding public engagement with the arts. [...] The NEA’s dependence on taxpayers means it also must play politics itself to maintain its funding. It makes a big deal of the fact that it distributes grants to every congressional district, creating a broad coalition of lawmakers with a vested interest in preserving its budget. It tries to bolster that support by supporting state and regional arts councils in times of distress, such as after the Great Recession. Rather than directing resources based on artistic merit or true financial need, [...] Its grants support everything from performing arts productions and educational initiatives to community-based cultural projects. While individual artists remain largely ineligible for direct funding, the NEA subsidizes arts institutions, nonprofit organizations, and state agencies that align with its evolving priorities.