Although some people will value the arts highly enough to...
Government subsidy of the arts is unnecessary as if art is good enough, then people will pay for it....
Without subsidy, many of the arts would not survive - local theatres would be forced to shut, film industries would shrink, national theatre, opera and ballet companies would disband or merge, museums would close their doors. Although some people will value the arts highly enough to pay a market rate for them, they are too few to maintain a diverse and extensive artistic sector which can improve the quality of life for all. In addition, exposing the arts to the full winds of the economic cycle means that skills and institutions lost during recessions can never be reestablished successfully when business improves - art is not a commodity.