Lawrence Harmon resorts to calling cultural institutions that don’t make voluntary payments in lieu of taxes arrogant and parasitic (“Cultural institutions need to pay up,” Op-ed, Jan. 12). If he wants to resort to name calling, I’ve got a word for him: philistinism.
Refined societies subsidize the arts rather than tax them. Our society is better known for its gun culture than its arts culture. What does Harmon propose — to add to the perception that the finer things in life are not welcome here?