EDITORIAL:Arts deserve public funding

The more fiscally conservative of you might blanch at the thought that Huntington Beach officials are considering a $40,000 annual discount on the Huntington Beach Playhouse’s rent.

But consider for a moment the value of the 45-year-old institution. That’s always the problem when it comes time to consider the merits of public financing of the arts. What’s a more important task for the government — fixing streets or subsidizing sculpture? It’s, of course, a losing argument to contend that government should prioritize public funding for paintings when there are potholes to be filled or teachers and police to be hired.

But if the government can afford to educate its citizens and beautify the public square, should it still put the arts entirely off to private enterprise? We think not. For if that were the case, we would not have public television or the Kennedy Center. If it weren’t for public funding, the Statue of Liberty would never have come to our shores. And there would be no Mount Rushmore. We’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who would argue that those monuments were boondoggles.

We’re pleased Huntington Beach officials have directed their staff to work on a plan that would lower the $100,000 annual lease to $60,000 so the Playhouse can afford to stay at the Central Park Library Theatre. But we’re even more pleased that it’s not considered the final word on the theater’s declining fortunes.

Councilwoman Cathy Green made a good point when she said, “It would give them three years. Then they can find another theater which will fit them perfectly and move them toward downtown.”

Playhouse leaders don’t want handouts. They’ve done everything they can to cut corners, and now they just need a little help. The value of history and tradition can never be discounted.

As President Kennedy put it, “There is a connection, hard to explain logically but easy to feel, between achievement in public life and progress in the arts.”

Or as President Reagan said, “Where there’s liberty, art succeeds.” As it should.