F-22 out? Could cultural jobs bill replace it?

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In February, I suggested that Congress pump $62 billion into the nation’s cultural infrastructure to secure the long-term health of the more than 5 million jobs in the nonprofit arts sector. The sizable commitment could be made simply by canceling funding for the F-22 Raptor fighter plane, widely regarded as out of date, and shifting those funds to the 100,000 arts groups dispersed in all 50 states.

Today Defense Secretary Robert Gates called for the end of production of the F-22. No word yet on whether a cultural jobs program will replace it.

UPDATE: Although the F-22 would get the ax under the Obama Administration plan, the Wall Street Journal reports that overall Defense Department spending would rise from $513 billion to $534 billion in FY 2010.

-- Christopher Knight