Gov. Ron DeSantis gave no explanation for zeroing out the $32 million in grants that were approved by state lawmakers.

Leaders of arts organizations in Florida, many of whom have worked in the state for decades, cannot remember a governor ever eliminating all of their grant funding. Even in the lean years of the Great Recession, at least a nominal amount — say, 5 percent of the recommended total — was approved.

Established arts organizations usually know better than to overly rely on nonrecurring state dollars subject to the discretion of politicians, said Michael Tomor, executive director of the Tampa Museum of Art. But to cut funding at a time when arts organizations are still struggling to recover from the coronavirus pandemic sends a concerning message “that taxpayer dollars should not be used in support of arts and culture,” he added.

Mr. DeSantis, a Republican, gave no explanation for zeroing out the arts grants. His office said in a statement that he made veto decisions “that are in the best interests of the State of Florida.”

In all, Mr. DeSantis vetoed nearly $950 million in proposed spending and proclaimed that the remaining $116.5 billion came in under the previous year’s budget.

Non-paywall link

  • mozz@mbin.grits.dev
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    5 months ago

    Because arts uplift, and misery is a huge part of the engine of fascism

    Well adjusted societies have less temptation for it on the pro side, and a lot stronger and more inspired resistance to it from the anti side. It needs to breed sickness in order to really take hold and thrive.

    I doubt DeSantis has that much of an organized plan for it, of course; I think it’s simple mean spirited ness on his part that he happened to see some vulnerable people that he can punish.

      • meeeeetch@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        Not entirely true, they can’t get enough of art that is exactly like the things they already like. A boring landscape that could have been painted a century earlier? They love that shit.

        But if you dare try to get creative (with message or medium) they will demand your head.

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    Yeah, I get it. When has the world ever become a better place when nations fund artworks?

    Look at this Florentine shit:

    That is what you get when a nation’s leader becomes a patron of the arts. Is that sort of smut what you want our kids seeing?

  • Snapz@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    I hope some of the “artists” that make those photos of “trump” with shirt off and a fake chiseled, glistening physique get unintentionally caught up in this grant cancellation - you know these images, the ones they stare at for hours while locked in the bathroom thinking about how straight they are.

  • Chozo@fedia.io
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    5 months ago

    How much you wanna bet that somebody tied to the arts recently emasculated Ron in public? Pulling funding from a huge swath of people over a petty personal embarrassment is a very on-brand move for DeSantis.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      When does his tenure as governor end?

      He’s obligated to take a two year hiatus from his current position at the end of eight years. But he’s free to run for another office during the downtime.

      That’s why Rick Scott became a Senator after his gubernatorial tenure.

  • sarcasticsunrise@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    This high heeled tough guy wannabe is the living embodiment of poor and spiteful decision making. Nothing he does helps anybody. It’s fascinating really. Everyday I wake up I count my blessings I escaped that shit hole state

    • Tryptaminev@lemm.ee
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      5 months ago

      Fascist 101:

      Blame minorities

      Get to Power

      Make things worse for everyone

      Blame minorities harder

      Manifest more power

  • Marthirial@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    Florida and her meatball will be textbook evidence of a failed state swallowed by the Ocean and drowned by social conservatism terrorism.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        #1 for education

        This is the same Florida where the governor has already gotten rid of some AP courses and has suggested getting rid of them completely, right?

        https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2023/02/14/desantis-florida-ap-courses-college-board-feud/11250682002/

        This is also the same Florida that now teaches children that black people learned useful skills when they were slaves, right?

        https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/new-florida-standards-teach-black-people-benefited-slavery-taught-usef-rcna95418

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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          5 months ago

          OP is being dishonest about it too. It’s #1 for higher education in Florida, #10 for K-12. And I’m not sure where they get #10 from because it looks like it’s marginally above average based on their own numbers.

          In fact, as far as I can tell, their whole metric for #1 is because Florida college students end up in less debt than in other states. And that is great, don’t get me wrong, but not exactly the best education metric.

          It’s a bit silly that Florida ranks above states like Massachusetts and California when it comes to higher education. I don’t know that any Florida university comes close to Harvard or CalTech. Cheaper, sure. A better quality education? I doubt it.

            • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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              5 months ago

              I hadn’t even looked into it after seeing how bogus the education numbers were, but that also doesn’t shock me.

              It also occurred to me that their main metric for K-12 education was high school graduation rate and since there’s no national education standards, that can mean different things for different states. The other metric was a math score based on something I’ve never heard of, but it was not a test my 14-year-old here in Indiana has taken yet and it’s not the SATs.

                • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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                  5 months ago

                  And a lot of those citizens are retirees from other states who can afford to retire in Florida. So of course they’re more likely to hold degrees.

  • blarth@thelemmy.club
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    5 months ago

    If the goal is to destroy art culture in Florida, I guess the Russian psyops have done their work.

    Enjoy brutalist, colorless Florida in a couple of generations.