I was thinking about this the other day when i went to the museum and saw so many employees doing nothing.
Yes, in fact there were private museums and historic sites all over the place. The most famous one I know was Gettysburg. There were also quite a few natural sites that were privately owned and managed as well, the only ones I know of are private outdoor sports ranges. Unfortunately, the highest level of government has used the funding of museums, natural sites, parks, arts venues and the like to show their goodness and their hard work to get their tax payers small cuts of the giant piles of tax plus made up money available in Washington and the other state capitals.
I forgot about the art museum in the city where I live is privately funded and owned by a board of trustees. The museum took a large donation with the stipulation that it not receive government funds or charge admission.
And yes, I do maintain a membership at the museum and donate more than the membership fee to the museum. I give nothing to government funded museums and the zoo and other attractions as they already can steal my money.
Many museums today are still largely privately funded. In my own home town of Wichita, the Art Museum and the Museum of Black History are both purely privately owned (and privately funded) museums. These two have done well over the years and continue to improve (especially the Art museum).
"The power of liberty going forward is in decentralization. Not in leaders, but in decentralized activism. In a market process." -- liberty student
Thanks for the replies.
I don't know how much money the Houston museum of natural science gets from the government. But the prices have shot up to $15 for an adult ticket and $10 for a child ticket.
At the same time, the upstairs part is now smaller as alot of it is roped off for a different exhibit that costs extra.
Prices have increased, quality has decreased.
True, but there are many examples of privately owned and run museums. George Washington's Mt Vernon estate continues to be private.
There are the Liberace Museum and the auto museum at the Imperial Palace, both in Las Vegas, NV. Also, there are dozens of private colleges with museums.
To paraphrase Marc Faber: We're all doomed, but that doesn't mean that we can't make money in the process. Rabbi Lapin: "Let's make bricks!" Stephan Kinsella: "Say you and I both want to make a German chocolate cake."