Jenny Pang
ENG3U
Mr. Sarno
March 30, 2018
The government faces a number of wicked issues every day: How to improve people’s quality of life? How to drive economic development? How to strengthen the influence of our country? In this environment, many people claim that it’s wasteful to spend taxpayers’ money on art when so many other critical needs are pressing. However, in terms of both the value of arts itself and the economic benefits it brings, I suppose arts should be invested by the government.
Arts is like a magic potion that can facilitate healing and contribute to well-being of people’s life. (Analogy Similes) It can not only reduce feelings of depression and anxiety, but it also improves the function of the body’s immune system. A report, for example, showed that anxiety in cancer patients can be effectively reduced through musical interventions. Prof. Levitin explained that “‘We’ve found compelling evidence that musical interventions can play a health care role in settings ranging from operating rooms to family clinics. But even more importantly, we were able to document the neurochemical mechanisms by which music has an effect in four domains: management of mood,stress,immunity and as an aid to social bonding.'”(MEDICALNEWSTODAY Editors) (illustrative example) Besides, music can produce an antibody in the human immune system, which has a crucial role in the health of human body. (Facts) Accordingly, I deem that if we combine arts with general care, it will be a very effective means of coping the health concerns. In short, arts itself can benefit both physical and mental health as an effective healing tool, so it deserves to be subsidized by the government.
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Arts plays an important role in the country’s economy. Arts-related industries, also known as “creative industries”, bring economic benefits to the country directly: They create a great deal of labor, and then generate a large amount of tax for the government. The number of creative industries is increasing with their growing competitiveness in the marketplace, so they create more jobs for society. Also, the people employed in these jobs work in a wide variety of roles, including designers, artists, teachers, architects and directors. Furthermore, these jobs will bring a lot of income to people and help them live a better life, while its contribution to the economy of the whole country cannot be neglected. For example, “in North Carolina, the wages and income of workers employed by creative industries infused $3.9 billion into the state’s economy in 2006″(NGA Center Editors). (illustrative example) Hence, arts has the potential to bring numerous economic benefits to the country by providing creative occupations and generating tax revenues. In conclusion, investing in arts is an extremely sensible decision because the government can reap plenty of economic benefits from it.
Another way in which arts stimulates economies: it attracts tourism revenues. People are better off today as a result of economic development, so the number of travelers is rising. It is noteworthy that arts plays a vital role in the tourism. For most visitors, specific arts or cultural or heritage activities will greatly influence their choice of destination. In addition, cultural tourism and the interest in culture among travelers is on the rise. These cultural travelers typically spend more and stay longer than other types of travelers. In the US, for example, “The U.S. cultural traveler spends 60 percent more, approximately $1,319 per trip compared with $820 for domestic leisure travelers. The cultural traveler also takes more trips than general U.S. travelers: 3.6 vs. 3.4 trips annually.” ? ?(Statistics) All in all, the status of arts in the tourism is worthy to be affirmed, so the government should pour money into the arts to help the tourism make more benefits, and thus promote the country’s economy.
I am sure that if people now ask, "should the government invest in art?" "A lot of people will answer," Yes. Because we can see that art can bring a lot of benefits to society: first of all, it can have a positive effect on human health. Second, it can provide employment opportunities and attract tourism benefits to boost the economy. Of course, these advantages can also help the government solve the problems they face every day. To sum up, the government should invest in art.
Works Cited
Glynn, Sarah. “Music Benefits Both Mental And Physical Health.” medicalnewstoday.com. 29 Mar. 2013. Web. 24 Mar. 2018.
John Thomasian. “Arts and the Economy.” www.nga.org. Web. 25 Mar. 2018.
