Russell Smith lays down the law

Although not always a fan of its views on economic issues, I do applaud the stand the Globe and Mail has taken on the Tory Government's recent slash and burn frenzy against arts funding. The Globe has been consistently critical of these narrow-minded policies and coherent in their arguments. The latest entry was yesterday (4 September) when Russell Smith provided a terrific analysis of why arts funding is important, why other countries do it and how Canada has had some success. You can read the article here.  The distressing thing about this is that the Tories pride themselves on being pro-business. Surely they understand the value of Government providing a lead on economic development and supporting businessmen and women as they create new initiatives and opportunities that benefit not just themselves but the economic well being of the country. Why are they not able to make the same connection to the economic value of the arts (as Smith does in his article)? One can only assume that these must be ideologically driven decisions - coming from a place of moral conviction - rather than hardheaded business. I guess, in this manner, Harper has a great deal in common with a certain governor from Alaska.