Did you make more than $176,100 this year? Did you tell your staff that you’re paying a lower Social Security tax than they are? I remember the moment clearly. In Alabama, I found myself in a quandary on a particular payday in late November. All of a sudden, I was receiving a higher take-home salary, even though I had not received a pay bump. I went to our finance office, … [Read more...] about Born in the DSA*: Remove the Social Security Cap
Backlash
Consequences — If They Cut Funding, You Go Nuclear (or Go Home)
It’s a game of chicken. If your arts organization yields, everyone loses. Gerrymandering has been in the news of late. It’s a word I didn’t know until my eighth-grade history teacher, Mr. Ubick, gave us all a list of dangerous yet goofy-sounding political terms and phrases. “Gerrymandering” was at the top of a list that included “jingoism,” “filibuster,” “pork-barrel,” … [Read more...] about Consequences — If They Cut Funding, You Go Nuclear (or Go Home)
Arts Organizations: Laughing, Yelling, Insanity, and You
Nonprofit arts organizations are dropping like flies. Got a problem with that? You’re 12. You’re at the park, sitting under a tree, drinking cola out of a can. A wasp buzzes toward you. You get a little startled, but you get up and walk over to a nearby bench, swatting at the air to make sure the wasp doesn’t follow you. The wasp seems curious about your sugary drink, … [Read more...] about Arts Organizations: Laughing, Yelling, Insanity, and You
SUMMER RERUN: The Con Is On – Raising Emergency Money at the Expense of Everyone Else Is Not a Heroic Act
Especially when you leave the premises just before the devastation and claim victory I can’t believe that this is not only still happening, but that you’re allowing it to happen. On Thursday, May 8, 2025, Portland Center Stage launched a $9 million emergency fundraising campaign — another company utilizing the corrupt Oral Roberts School of Fundraising concept — … [Read more...] about SUMMER RERUN: The Con Is On – Raising Emergency Money at the Expense of Everyone Else Is Not a Heroic Act
SUMMER RERUN: What Would a Post-NEA (Arts) America Look Like?
An all-too-prescient post from January 2025 begs you to answer the question: if WHEN the NEA’s funding is eliminated, how would that change what they YOU do? In early May 2025, Donald Trump issued an executive order calling for the elimination of the NEA, NEH, and several other arts, literature, and cultural agencies. Millions of dollars of grants have already been … [Read more...] about SUMMER RERUN: What Would a Post-NEA (Arts) America Look Like?