Yes, I agree that would be a good system. Museums lend things to each other all the time and they get money in exchange. Wouldn't it be better if that money went to the artifacts' country of origin?

I think we should offer to repatriate everything, and if those countries can't afford to preserve those items and would like help, there should be a trust set up by the museum where they're being displayed and a percentage of ticket sales should go into that trust. Then the trust could be used to cover the cost of building a facility/museum in the artifacts' home country so they can be safely returned.

It breaks my heart that people are being deprived of the experience of seeing important pieces of their own cultural history. That should be the priority, in my opinion.

I'm of the opinion that everything should be returned, unless a country/culture asks that another country keep it safe for them because of times of instability or what have you. But if it gets returned and then gets destroyed... it was always theirs to preserve or destroy. Is it a tremendous loss? Yes, but such is the way of human history.

Jon Oliver?