Monday, February 06, 2006
Are public libraries free? A modern journalist's take.
I found a newspaper column online that I felt seemed keeping right in theme with what we've been studying. A journalist was shocked to find DVD's of popular TV shows and movies at his local library. Interesting to see a modern none librarian's thoughts on the subject.
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I would submit that this piece doesn't just represent the thoughts of "a modern journalist," but a particular political point of view from an economic and social conservative columnist. For example, in an earlier Newsday column of his, he wrote:
School taxes make up the biggest chunk of the local property tax bill. We certainly can point fingers at public school board members, administrators, teachers' unions and some of the higher paid teachers in the country. They've worked together to drive spending and taxes through the roof.
But county, town and other local government officials also deserve blame. They pile expenses on the taxpayers as well, with few showing any serious interest in exploring ways to reduce costs. And among those local government costs, Long Island taxpayers pay for some of the higher paid police officers in the nation. Big bucks for cops, teachers and other civil servants mean big taxes.
In addition, our state legislators over the years have socked public schools and local government with all kinds of mandates. That's always fun and easy for a politician - take credit for a new program and let somebody else pay for it. State politicians obviously don't care about slicing away at mandates or layers of government. Instead, they pander to public-sector unions that contribute lavishly to political campaigns, and hit residents with heavy state taxes as well.
Unfortunately, fingers must be pointed at both Democrats and Republicans, since neither party has exhibited any broad political leadership on reducing taxes.
But guess where ultimate blame lies? If you don't vote, you're to blame. If you buy into the baseless spin that more must be spent to get better results in government, you're to blame. If you voted for school budgets hiking spending and taxes, you're to blame. If you ignore widespread government waste, you're to blame. If you vote for candidates who love government more than taxpayers, you're to blame.
The question would be, then, how do libraries construct and legitimize their public role in an environment of neoliberal governance (social service privatization, cuts to welfare programs, hostility toward labor, subsidies to private capital, etc.).
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