Are Canadians capable of purchasing culture? It seems like a straightforward question, but the issue has become muddied by the intervention of politicians and bureaucrats. It appears our governments, particularly federal, have decided most Canadians are either not competent to purchase culture or at least not in sufficient quantity. So governments do it for us, by spending on culture on our behalf. Governments spending on culture is significant: statistics Canada reports that all levels of government spent a combined total of $6.3 billion in 2000/01 - about $425 per taxpayer.

Yet, most of that spending did not go to support the traditional concepts of culture like museums, artists, and libraries. Rather, some 80 per cent ($2.4 billion) of the federal government’s $3 billion in cultural spending went to such institutions as the CBC, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) and the Canadian Television Fund.

Curiously, although CBC received almost $800 million in 2000/01, it did not pay off in viewership. The only program to consistently appear in the top 20 is the CBC National News. Private networks fare better.

We personally enjoy shows like Real Renos and Holmes on Homes which appear on Home and Garden Television, but don’t believe taxpayers should be footing the bill. Apparently, bureaucrats under Heritage Minister Sheila Copps have decided the market just wasn’t providing enough home repair and gardening shows.

It’s the provinces and municipalities that support the traditional institutions of culture, like libraries and museums. The provinces disperse some 63 per cent of their $2.1 billion in cultural spending directly to artists and cultural organizations, mostly libraries. In contrast, the federal government spends less than one-fifth of its cultural funding on institutions and artists, and when it does, most of it ends up in Ottawa.

A number of studies have found that cultural spending is largely consumed by individuals with high incomes. In effect, cultural spending is a transfer of money from lower- and middle-income households to upper-income households. That’s paternalism at it’s worst, and it is insulting to Canadians. The notion that federal mandarins know better than typical Canadians what they want to see on television, hear on the radio, or view in museums and libraries is patently wrong. Economist and political philosopher Friedrich Hayek referred to this political and bureaucratic arrogance as the fatal conceit, a condition in which bean counters and their political masters think they know better than those paying their salaries - taxpayers - what people need and want.

What we really need is a large reduction in the level of cultural spending by government, and a concurrent reduction in the related civil service - there are 209 government departments dispensing cultural dollars. Remaining spending should be as localized as possible. Then, with those unspent tax dollars, Canadians could choose the culture they wish to support. Who knows? Maybe Canadians want more gardening and home renovation shows.