Fw: Petition to support youth in arts

[Alan Filewod]

Yes, well, this is a contentious issue in whatever sphere it arsises. 
My point is simply that tax credits offer no benefit, especially to 
low income families. They mask cuts to essential services, and there 
is no evidence that tax credit schemes generate economic activity 
(that's the discredited  "trickle-down" theory of Reaganomics). The 
low income single mother will find that any tax credit she receives 
will cover only a fraction of her actual cost. This is the problem 
with the childcare credit scheme as well. The net result is that 
lower income families will have to pay more for services.

An activist in my community has addressed this issue of the arts 
credit petition on his blog. II think it's worth a look: 
http://philallt.ca/
cheers
Alan


At 11:38 AM -0400 6/1/06, Leslie Barcza wrote:
>I want to make sure I understand before I call you out on this Alan 
>(and make a fool of myself in front of the entire listserv). 
>
>I think what you say would be true if one could ever imagine dance 
>or piano lessons being part of the school curriculum...but it was 
>always peripheral (as far back as school curricula in the 60s and 
>70s). Yes the principle you speak of is true; the direction of this 
>petition is something else, as far as I can tell.
>
>Yes it's true that arts education --drama in high school for 
>instance--seems to be the first thing cut when times are tough; but 
>that's not relevant in this case.  The money from such a credit 
>might help the rich but it could just as easily help a poor single 
>mother who can't afford the "luxury" of sending a child to dance or 
>singing or trumpet or guitar lessons: a normal part of life in the 
>rich communities of this country. 
>
>And it would certainly help put money in the pockets of the teachers 
>(speaking of poor people).
>
>Leslie
>
>
>
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Canadian Theatre Reserach [mailto:CANDRAMA at LISTSERV.UNB.CA] On 
>Behalf Of Alan Filewod
>Sent: Thursday, June 01, 2006 10:54 AM
>To: CANDRAMA at LISTSERV.UNB.CA
>Subject: Re: Fw: Petition to support youth in arts
>
>Perhaps the saddest thing about this is the way in which arts 
>supporters endorse the conservative platform of tax credits. For my 
>part I will not sign this petitiion because it is fundamentally bad 
>public policy. Reaganomics doesn't work. As we saw in the Tory 
>childcare plan, tax credits are an integral part of the systematic 
>defunding of essential services.
>cheers
>Alan
>
>At 10:11 AM -0700 6/1/06, Rebecca Burton wrote:
>
>>Hello Candramers
>>
>
>
>I just received this email from Jan Selman (please see below) and 
>thought I would pass it on since the issue came up at one 
>point during the ACTR conference.  Some people were interested 
>in more information and the petition about the new tax credit for 
>kid's sports (but not artistic) activities.
>
>
>
>Cheers,
>
>
>
>Rebecca
>
>
>
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>
>From: <mailto:michaelscholar at gmail.com>michael scholar
>
>Sent: Tuesday, May 30, 2006 3:10 PM
>
>Subject: Petition to support youth in arts
>
>
>Dear friends,
>
>
>Some of you may have received this already, but if not, please sign 
>and pass it along to others in your address book. It's too important 
>an issue to ignore.
>
>
>
>
>If you click on the link below, you can read and sign an online 
>petition to the federal government, requesting that it reconsider 
>its budget provision giving a tax break to parents who put their 
>children in organized sports (hockey, soccer), but giving nothing to 
>parents who choose to develop their children's intellectual and 
>artistic talents (art, music, dance, drama).  This is not good 
>public policy.
>
>
>
>
>If you agree with that view and the wording of this petition, please 
>sign it yourself and copy the link to your like-minded friends.
>
>
>
>
><http://www.petitiononline.com/dbs201bl/>http://www.petitiononline.com/dbs201bl/
>
>
>
>
>My apologies if you have received more than one of these. Please 
>sign the petition only once.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>***************************
>
>Jan Selman
>
>
>
>
>
>Principal Investigator,
>
>Are We There Yet? Community-University Research Alliance
>
>
>
>Chair (on leave, July 2005-June 2006)
>
>Department of Drama
>
>University of Alberta
>
>
>
>
>
>
>--
>Alan Filewod
>Professor
>Schoool of English and Theatre Studies
>University of Guelph
>
>Guelph ON
>Canada N1G 2W1

-- 
Alan Filewod
Professor
Schoool of English and Theatre Studies
University of Guelph

Guelph ON
Canada N1G 2W1
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