Public art at any cost?

 I am very interested in art. I have a lot of art at home, attend exhibitions, and have served as the chairperson of a large art association. I know that art moves people—and so it should, especially public art.

However, I strongly feel that public art funded by taxpayers deserves more careful consideration than it has received.

Quite some time ago, a pine tree from northern Sweden—said to be the oldest pine in the world at 10,000 years of age—was cloned.

This clone was placed in a special container outside the large hospital in our city.

The clone did not survive, so the process had to be repeated—at a cost of approximately $800,000.

Another work of art has now been purchased—a piece intended to serve as a reminder of anti-racism and why it is so important. Racism is abhorrent and must be fought, but what does this stone say about racism? (See the photo.) The cost? $280,000.

My questions are: Do we have that kind of money? And if so, when will there be a monument addressing the widespread antisemitism in Sweden?