Good evening.
I didn't prepare remarks, because I thought I was just going to come and listen, but I will add a few things.
I've been a writer for 30 years. Typically people in the arts are paid very low salaries. Writers are among them.
What I find very ironic is that the people and the institutions that are not wanting to pay the most lowly paid class of workers in the country are the people who are making very good salaries. For example, 30 years ago, I might have received $200 for a newspaper article. Now, 30 years later, I'm lucky if I get $200 for a newspaper article.
The incomes for writers have flatlined, stayed the same, or even declined, but I don't think you would find any educators out there who are working for the same amount of money they were working for 30 years ago. I just find the whole situation rather ironic.
I think of what Joan said. There will not be creators in the future because there is no way to make a living at it, and if that continues, the whole industry is just going to collapse.
As for Access Copyright, I used to count on that money annually to top up my income, and in semi-retirement I had counted on it as well. Whereas I used to get between $1,500 and $1,800 a year from Access Copyright, this past year I got $750.
Again, writers do not have pensions, but many of the people who are now not wanting to pay for our work have pensions.
I don't know if those are any thoughts that haven't been shared with you before, but I just thought I would add them.
Thank you.