Rick Steves donating $1 million in ‘Bush tax cuts’ to Edmonds arts

[rsmith6621]

TV travel guru seeks to inspire others, too, to make cultural gifts
By Bill Sheets, Herald Writer
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EDMONDS -- Travel TV host and publisher Rick Steves is giving $1 million to the Edmonds Center for the Arts, and he's making a political statement in doing so.

Steves said Thursday his donation equals what he saved from the tax cuts approved by former President George W. Bush beginning in 2001.

"Over the last decade, my tax burden has decreased even as public funding for important local programs and institutions has been decimated -- a trend I find alarming," he said in a written statement.

Steves is encouraging other people who are financially well off to make similar donations.


http://heraldnet.com/article/20110825/NEWS01/708269915/-1/news01

[RegieRocker]

1. Whoopee!!!

[marmar]

2. Rick Steves "gets" it.....

:thumbsup:

[Volaris]

9. I saw a tape of him doing a Q and A once, and someone

asked him about the seeming lack of a drug epidemic in Europe, and he said the following...(paraphrased)

"When it comes to drug use, America needs to realize what Europe has figured out already; that you can either build MORE prisons, or you can make LESS things illegal..."

I kinda tend to watch him now if I catch his show on PBS

[SpiralHawk]

3. He's a the anti-Republicon - a responsible citizen

Glad to hear about someone who care about their home and country, unlike the greedhead Republicons...

[liberal N proud]

4. Rick has traveled many places and seen many regimes

He has seen the results of what has happened here.

Makes me like his advice that much more.

[Glimmer of Hope]

5. Good for him. Hopefully others will follow.

[Ineeda]

6. Wonderful, but

it's a two-edged sword, IMO. Don't get me wrong. I totally support the message and all charitable giving. However, actions like this could serve to bolster RW cuts to all sorts of programs that such gift(s) target. It's exactly like taking away taxpayer support for NPR, which is only a pittance, and which we were all up in arms about. As a parallel, lots of entry-level and low-education jobs that used to be the salvation of a vast population have been usurped by volunteers. Our local hospital, for example, that already had a ton of volunteers (largely a retirement community with older folks looking for something to do and feel useful), has virtually eliminated employment for that population. This reminds me of the town hall meeting during the health care debate (I forget which one) where a winger told a constituent that she should look to charitable institutions for help, not the government. I applaud Steves and others like him, but I'm afraid this could backfire. In a weird way, it's 'no good deed goes unpunished.'

[valerief]

8. +1000

[Dappleganger]

7. I love that man.

He gets it.

[sfpcjock]

10. Fantastic example!

Republi-cons have a bill out there for the ultra rich to be able to give their "spare change" they stole from us to the IRS, I believe. This is the opposite.

[Bluenorthwest]

11. Rick Steves is a man I admire, and I don't admire many

He is a man whose business and writing has always reflected his values.

[sfpcjock]

12. Me 3

:)