Another £43m down the drain - in the name of art

At a time of economic hardship, this is what the government is spending the taxpayers’ money on:

A wonderful picture, I think we’ll all agree.  But £43m of taxpayers’ money?  Are they insane?!  That could pay the salaries of two thousand new teachers.  Yet, instead, it’ll be spent on a painting.

People talk about it being vital to preserve our culture.  That’s not a philistine’s opinion.  Of course, it is vital (dare I compare people that disagree to Gramscians?).  It is imperative to preserve the culture that people want to preserve: and not the culture that the government deigns to preserve by taking other people’s money.  The only way to decide which is which is to let the free market decide what is worth preserving.

The Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea, which is an amazing gallery, is completely free: and cost the taxpayer nothing.  Other fantastic collections - from the Wallace Collection in London to the Smithsonian in Washington, DC - were given to the state by bequest, cost them nothing to assemble, and allow free entry.  By having the government waste the taxpayers’ money by bidding against private collectors that would simply put the painting on display somewhere anyway is an absurdity, and a tragedy at the time when our economy is collapsing.