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The case for naming a U.S. secretary of Culture - latimes.com Page ] of 3 latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-secretary-of-culture-notebook- 20130120,0,162825.story latimes.com The case for naming a U.S. secretary of Culture Music critic Mark Swed says it's time we have someone in the Cabinet who can speak to our common identity: Arts and the humanities help us figure out who we are. By Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times Music Critic 6:00 AM PST, January 19, 2013 Along with adding the finishing touches to his advertisement inaugural address on Monday, President Obama has ee plenty on his plate. He is consumed by the responsibilities of selecting new Cabinet members and preparing strategies to get them confirmed. He already had his fair share of critics, and the last thing he needs is a music critic telling him how to run the country. So I'm sorry to have to be the one to remind you, Mr. President, that you've left someone out. Secretary of Culture. It's time. Despite a troubling international reduction of : government support for the arts thanks to the world MAT PAT iad Ne AD economic crises, most countries still manage to ORANGE COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART maintain ministries of culture, and not just seats of Western civilization such as France, Italy, Spain, Great Britain and Greece but also in Albania, Brazil, Haiti, Ethiopia, Cambodia and about 50 other countries. We, instead, have the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. PHOTOS: Arts and culture in pictures by The Times I'm a great supporter of these institutions, but I'm calling for their removal and the creation of a new Cabinet-level agency for culture. The NEA, to which I've been closest in my career, is a wonderful organization, doing what it can to support institutions (if no longer individual artists) large and small. But it is also a political football and it is always going to be one. One of the calls to abolish the NEA, for instance, came from Mitt Romney in last year's campaign, as part of his proposal to balance the budget. But during the debates Obama failed to note that investment in the arts is a more reliable jobs creator than in nearly all industries, nor is it easily outsourced. That has been an idée fixe of the Obama-appointed outgoing NEA head, Rocco http://www. latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-secretary-of-culture-notebook... 3/27/2013 HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_026598