To the editor:
Concerning “To Save Museums, Deal with Them Like Highways,” by Laura Raicovich and Laura Hanna (Opinion visitor essay, February 11):
The authors have a intelligent concept to camouflage cultural funding by equating it with freeway building and upkeep. I applaud their ingenuity: fixing a leaky roof is much less controversial than supporting the artwork on the partitions or film screens beneath.
Administrators of any arts group waste giant quantities of time, power, expertise (and cash!) to lift cash. Through the pandemic, the federal government, by means of varied packages, allotted beneficiant quantities based mostly on the nonprofit’s funds, saving many people from catastrophe.
An identical strategy, quite than the Nationwide Endowment for the Arts’ minimal funds, allocating funds in keeping with extremely subjective standards, would make sense. Sadly, this doesn’t handle the underlying drawback of why People place so little worth on the humanities.
Karen Cooper
New York
The writer was director of Movie Discussion board from 1972 to 2023.
To the editor:
Laura Raicovich and Laura Hanna wrote that we have to cease treating museums, theaters and galleries as sacred areas and begin treating them extra like infrastructure.
Analysis figuring out museums as “third locations” helps this concept. Museums are public areas the place individuals go to study new issues, to interact with one another, to discover concepts. Stories launched in 2021 by each the American Alliance of Museums and the Institute of Museum and Library Companies discovered that People belief museums and the knowledge they share.
However like guide bans that threaten libraries, one other “third place,” museum funding that’s managed by politics or energy threatens entry to artwork and concepts. Aware or unconscious bias results in distrust.
All of us expertise artwork, theater and books by means of private lenses formed by our backgrounds, households and schooling. Museums, like libraries, don’t inform us what to suppose. They supply entry to info and invite us to make up our personal minds.
Artwork permits us to mirror, really feel, study. It provides bodily type to concepts. Like our group streets, museums construct connections. Funding museums as infrastructure may help info movement.
Kathleen Sams
Richmond, Va.
The writer is a nonprofit grant author.
To the editor:
A number of years in the past my spouse and I took a visit to go to England. Whereas she attended varied workshops, I visited quite a lot of native museums. I used to be most impressed by the standard, presentation, content material and scholarship on show.
I requested every curator how they achieved such skilled shows. Every time the response was “We get funding from the Nationwide Lottery!” Easy, proper? It is not rocket science, so why not in America?
This is the spark…politics! We do not have a nationwide lottery to assist fund the humanities, however the writers of the essay are heading in the right direction.
Armen Hagopian
Brick, NJ
The incorrect strategy to the US metal deal
To the editor:
Concerning “Biden faces halting metal merger” (Enterprise, February 17):
Concerning the proposed buy of US Metal by Nippon Metal, it’s famous that each firms are behind in decarbonizing metal manufacturing. An injunction towards this buy is a doubtful strategy to resolve the issue of greenhouse gasoline emissions in metal manufacturing.
The primary consideration for decarbonizing metal manufacturing is value. If the price of capital is excessive and the return on funding is low, an funding in decarbonisation can hurt an organization’s competitiveness. It discourages or delays the adoption of low-emission applied sciences.
For this reason steelmaking emissions are finest addressed with a value on fossil-based carbon by means of federally enacted coverage. It might encourage all metal firms to put money into low-emission manufacturing, which might be important to keep up competitiveness.
Placing a value on carbon, ideally utilizing a carbon payment and dividend coverage, will keep away from conundrums like this metal merger, the place we are attempting to resolve an emissions drawback with the incorrect coverage lever, on this case overseas funding coverage. With a value on carbon, there could be no local weather issues with this deal, an funding by a powerful ally in an American firm in want of capital and expertise upgrades.
Wharton Sinkler
Sandwich, NH
The writer is the pinnacle of New Hampshire’s Lakes Area Chapter of Residents’ Local weather Foyer.
Immigrants may help revive Small-City America
To the editor:
Concerning “One other political failure on immigration” (editorial, February 3):
Whereas Trumplicans stonewall a bipartisan deal to assist with the immigration drawback, President Biden ought to provide a brand new deal on immigration to America and name it A Higher Deal for Small-City America.
As an alternative of strengthening the border and limiting asylum and authorized immigration, Mr. Biden ought to provide People an opportunity to revive small-town America (the center and soul of the nation), resolve the disaster on the border, and do proper by thousands and thousands searching for to work and discover a higher life in America.
Take a drive on two-lane roads throughout America and you will discover hundreds of small cities, actually ghost cities, shells of what they was, struggling to maintain a grocery retailer, a senior middle, a pharmacy, or the one cafe open ; plow the streets; repair the sidewalks; or mow the grass within the cemetery.
Set up a nationwide program to put immigrants in these communities. Societies would apply for a sure variety of immigrants, and new and up to date arrivals would decide to a number of years of labor on a path to citizenship. The small print would come. What’s lacking is the nationwide dedication and the mandate.
It has typically been mentioned, with little controversy, that immigrants constructed America. Why not let the thousands and thousands who attempt to come right here rebuild and revive it?
John E. Colbert
Arroyo Seco, NM
Protection with out casualties
To the editor:
Concerning “What’s a Little Hyperbole Amongst Mates” (The Dialog, nytimes.com, February 19):
Bret Stephens argues that the latest $355 million judgment towards Donald Trump is ridiculous as a result of his lenders didn’t complain, and it’ll lend credibility to Mr. Trump’s declare that the justice system is rigged. I agree.
The opposite night time I ran a purple mild and even though nobody however a digital camera noticed the incident and nobody complained, I acquired a ticket.
I feel I’ll use Mr. Stephens’s protection in courtroom. It should go the straight-face check.
Alan Canner
Allentown, Pa.
A GOP shadow authorities
To the editor:
You have had a number of articles about Donald Trump’s meddling within the vote on the bipartisan border invoice. This motion and response of the Republican Social gathering makes Mr. Trump to a de facto president. He makes his needs recognized after which the Republicans do what he desires, although he’s only a citizen not in workplace.
Democrats need authorities to work because it was supposed, with bipartisan compromise to realize what’s achievable. We want dialogue, debate and options. Even when options fail, we must always strive one thing else, and check out, strive once more.
The Republicans need a king, I feel – one who simply tells them what to do, so they give the impression of being to the previous president for steering as an alternative of performing like adults with free will.
I do not perceive why anybody would ever give up their very own capacity to suppose to another person. The impact is that Mr. Trump and the GOP are performing like they’re a shadow authorities. He’s a pretended king.
Tracy Highfill
Cave Creek, Ariz.