'Video Games Live': Your Taxes Dollars At Work

I don't know precisely how to react to this story recounting (a) the Pittsburgh Symphony's hip new reach-out to the younger generation or (b) the involuntary spasms of a corpse bloated by taxpayer dollars.

I know this: When Green Day brings its music to Pittsburgh later this month, the performers will carry their own weight, artistically and financially. The band will not be heavily subsidized by taxpayers; it will pay plenty of taxes; and it will not require pathetic gimmicks to attract people young or old. (I do not consider a giant pink bunny chugging a beer to be a pathetic gimmick; I find it to be a fine way to start the show.)

When Billy Joe, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool are the models of self-reliance, fiscal accountability and personal responsibility, and the people in tuxedos (on stage and in the audience) are the ones sponging off society, it may be time to reevaluate something.