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BTL Editorial: Commitments should be kept

There's no doubt that Michigan's economy is in deep trouble. With the second worst unemployment rate in the nation and state businesses hemorrhaging jobs seemingly on a daily basis – plus a disturbing lack of leadership from both sides of the aisle regarding tax restructuring – it should come as no surprise that tough calls must be made to keep state government afloat.
But mixed messages coming from Governor Granholm recently have left us – and countless others, especially those in the struggling arts community – stunned almost beyond belief.
Cognizant of the need to transform the state's economy from its century-long dependency on manufacturing to sectors of industry that experts believe will drive the 21st century, the governor clearly understands Michigan must both attract and retain a highly educated workforce. "In communities large and small," she told a 2003 gathering of the Michigan Cool Cities Statewide Advisory Group, "we must focus on economic development that makes our downtowns vibrant, our arts community thrive, and, most importantly, makes our young people want to make their homes in Michigan."
In other words, Michigan must create an environment in which creative people want to work, play and live.
The governor has every reason to be worried. According to a recent Detroit Free Press-Local 4 Michigan Poll, "Nearly half of young Michiganders predict they'll have to leave the state to pursue a career and almost two-thirds of those won't mind leaving."
So why, then, did the governor – who's hell-bent on creating "cool cities" for the creative class – issue an executive order that could effectively destroy the foundation upon which her plans rest?
We're confused – and rightfully so.
The governor's order, released March 29, stopped the payment of all grant monies owed to the state's cultural and arts organizations for the remainder of the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30. The amount owed – about two-thirds of $10.1 million – is a tiny slice of both the state's overall budget of $41.6 billion and the expected shortfall of nearly $700 million. Yet its impact on arts and cultural groups statewide both large and small will feel just as large.
Arts groups, of course, had built their 2006-07 budgets to include the funds promised them last September, yet most have received at most only one-third. Some have received nothing. But most devastating of all is the fact that many groups have already spent the money committed to them – and there's little chance of recouping the remainder through other sources. (Corporate giving is also down, as is paid attendance at many venues.)

What often gets lost in all the rhetoric is this: The arts and culture industry provides 300,000 jobs in Michigan and pumps $46 billion into the state's economy each year. That's not chump change. The governor's action, however, has seriously jeopardized its survival.
Whether or not you believe government should fund the arts is irrelevant at this point. What ultimately matters is this: The state made a commitment to the arts community, and that commitment must be kept. If not, Gov. Granholm might have to kiss her "Cool Cities" – and its creative class – goodbye.

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