Tax Policy Toward Arts and Nonprofits: Democracy or Plutocracy?

The US budget for direct arts spending for the National Endowment for the Arts was $207 million in 2024. However, in 2024 the United States spent between $2 and $3.35 billion to support arts nonprofits through the charitable contribution deduction. Over 90% of those deductions came from people earning more than $200,000. Are there such important enough benefits from these Congressionally provided charitable tax benefits supporting arts-based nonprofits to justify this plutocratic approach to arts policy?