As a New Yorker and a biographer of Otto Kahn, the preeminent patron of the
Metropolitan Opera during the first third of the twentieth century, I reply
to Mr Zincavage with the following:
1) The gas station owner in Tulsa has about as much access to the Met as I:
s/he can watch it on PBS or when discretionary income permits, s/he can
attend a live performance either at Lincoln Center or within the City parks.
One need not be a New Yorker to access the Met: it is a world class
institution, open to everyone, but only so because public funding has allowed
equal opportunity of access.
2) By your logic, should a property owner with no children be exempted from
local school taxes and given a credit when tax vouchers privilege citizens
with children of school age? Would your argument extend to the complete
abolition of public funding for schools, civic programs, aesthetic
development, etc. -- in the interest of the republic -- and if so, what
chances for the survival of any republican ideals are anticipated in your
model?
Sincerely,
Theresa Collins
theresac@gandalf.rutgers.edu