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This report is produced by a right wing group and frankly the right-wing is the only folks addressing this, by creating tenure line jobs and funding for their people. The academic center-left has failed to invest similarly and sustainably in humanities research and jobs.

Tyler Austin Harper’s article on Mellon was in many ways misguided but the quote he got from them is damning. Yes foundations and other external bodies (including govt) need to serve as perpetual piggy banks for humanities research. This is exactly how it has worked in STEM pre-Trump.

Mellon doesn’t want to keep funding academic humanities research? Then it won’t happen at places where there isn’t other private funding available. And right now, most of that private funding is from the right-wing.

Right now, public funding for academic research even in Democratic states is contingent on that research supporting for-profit economic development or job training. The other type of public funding available is for right-wing “civic” thought. Nobody is supporting peer-reviewed humanities scholarship

Democrats do not fund curiosity-driven humanities research. They do not believe in doing so. They are unlikely to change their perspective any time soon. They will not, in their current ideological form, rebuild the NEH at anywhere near the capacity needed even given the chance.