Andrew Adler: orchestra members making a base salary of [only] $74K per year is an "outrage"

From Andrew Adler in the C-J...

It may sound cold and even a bit heartless to say this, but we value the arts by how much money we're willing to spend supporting artists. You can find depressing evidence in the bitter dispute between the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and its musicians.

Like many American orchestras, the DSO has retrenched amid debilitating economic circumstances. But the latest blow seems to go beyond all reason. Management wants to cut — no, make that slash — tenured musicians' base salaries from $104,650 to $73,800 a year. That's a reduction of almost 30 percent.

Considering that the DSO is on track to lose $9 million this year, drastic measures may indeed be necessary. Still...

Speaking of bashing, since Labor Day is upon us, let's not forget another favorite target: unions. The DSO's players, like those of the Louisville Orchestra, belong to the American Federation of Musicians. Some would hold that makes them one step away from despicable socialists....

Socialists? Maybe in their political views, but not inherently, as members of a labor market cartel-- an interest group that benefits by colluding to earn higher compensation.