Where the Presidential Candidates Stand on the Arts
- November 04, 2012 22:56
For voters on the eve of the presidential election, the political wing of the Americans for the Arts organization, a national service for nonprofit arts, has issued its analysis of each candidate's position on the arts.
Americans for the Arts Action Fund, the lobby group for Americans for the Arts, lists seven yes or no questions about arts education and funding. A "yes" answer indicates a support for the arts while a "no" is a negative for arts funding or initiatives.
Their results show Democrats Obama and Biden with six marked yes and one no; Republicans Romney and Ryan ratcheted up four no and three unknown.
Both candidates were a "no" for the current incentives for charitable giving for 501(c)(3) organizations, such as local arts nonprofits.
Obama plans to reduce the charitable tax deduction for those who earn more than $250,000 from 35 percent to 28 percent of their gifts' value.
Romney's website says he proposes to save $600 million per year by slashing the budgets of the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting as well as the Legal Services Corporation which aids people unable to afford a lawyer.