Culture Monster’s Christopher Knight makes a case for the value of art jobs. Quoting Scott Lilly of the Center for American Progress, Knight takes exception to the idea that arts funding in the stimulus package is wasteful:

Lilly cited a government study that showed at least 3 million arts industry workers are in support jobs —electricians, carpenters, seamstresses, janitors, accountants, publicists, etc. — and they’ll be just as out-of-work as a Wall Street trader or a Wal-Mart clerk if an arts center cuts back or closes. So what gives? Why are so many blind to the simple reality that arts workers are real workers?

Arts Jobs Are Real Jobs (Culture Monster/LA Times)