Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats insisted that the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts receive more stimulus money than the average corporation or organization. They forced Republicans to set aside $25 million specifically for the Kennedy Center. This was in addition to $75 million in the stimulus bill that will go towards other arts programs around the country.

Given the fact that the Kennedy Center just received $25 million, free and clear, you would think that they would use that money to pay their musicians and performers. After all, that is the whole purpose behind much of the stimulus bill: give companies and organizations money to keep Americans on payroll so the government doesn't have to pay them unemployment.

But the Kennedy Center isn't going to do that, apparently...

The National Symphony Orchestra has informed its members that the Kennedy Center will no longer be paying them, effective April 3rd.

The orchestra was informed today that "the last paycheck for all musicians and librarians will be April 3" and that musicians "will not be paid again until the [Kennedy] Center reopens."

Democrats spent an entire week arguing that if the Republican bill were to pass, for-profit corporations would take the bailout and still lay-off their employees anyway, allowing them to pocket the bailout funds.

But here we are, less than a day after the stimulus bill was signed into law, and instead of the for-profit corporations stiffing their employees, it is the non-profit, government-run Kennedy Center...

Your tax dollars went towards bailing out the Kennedy Center and it took them less than a day to pocket the money and lay off their performers anyway.

So the real question is, what is that $25 million going to be used for. If the Kennedy Center isn't going to use it to pay its performers, where will it go to?

What is the point of bailing out the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts if immediately after securing $25 million in additional funding, they lay off all the performing artists?

The American people deserve a refund...

The good news? Trump just appointed John Voight and Mike Huckabee to serve on the Kennedy Center's board, so at least there will be some conservatives over there to put a stop to this nonsense...