Art & Taxes
Oh election day. You know, here in Cleveland we have this Issue 18 Arts & Culture bill. Somehow they tracked my email address down and have been spamming me about it for the past 3 months. Cleveland is the non-profit capitol, as in, non-profits that turn less than solid results and then shut-down with zero notice. So of course many go the route of being an arts organization. Supposedly many arts non-profits are in trouble (pocketing money, cough-cough), so Issue 18 is for taxing cigarettes to give more money to them.
Distrustful of non-profits and pessimistic much? Oh yes! That's me. And the reasons and evidence here in Cleveland are too numerous to name for why. However I will say that maybe, instead of taxing, they should put a cap on how much an arts or non-profit director can write their own salary for ($200,000 a year, cough-cough). I get rejected for tiny individual grants just to pay for my framing costs, yet these shifty organizations can write their own salaries and pay employees next to nothing? Nice.
Better yet, why not tax coffee? We already have a sin tax on booze which isn't fun. People usually drink heavy and smoke because they are having a hard enough time as it is. Give 'em a break instead of taxing their last pleasure left in this world. Starbucks drinkers are more likey to support and give money to the arts than a Camel Menthol smoker, right? A coffee is $4 freakin' dollars what difference will $4.50 make to these people? But I'm sure if someone lives in Cleveland, drinks heavily, and chain smokes, they are exactly the kind of person who will be thrilled to be taxed so the Thai shadow puppet theater troupe can buy Charles Shaw wine to sell to people at their next performance.
It doesn't matter though, I'm afraid to go out today. Ever since yesterday when Tyra Banks informed me of a new disease spreading like wild fire in young women. Angry Girl Disease! Appearantly the producers of the Tyra show have traced the origins to Naomi Campbell. Wow, bitch throws a Blackberry and then creates an epidemic? I'm sure the MacArthur fellow nominations are rolling in, as well as the Nobel Prize for science.
Speaking of crazy trash talking models, I found what I want for Christmas:
You think I'm joking, but I'm not. If I don't find this under my tree Christmas morning, I'll start chucking Blackberry devices at all you punks! Nah, too expensive, how about I just wail on you with a heavy rotary phone?
