2012 conventions 2012 election 2013 session 2013 special election arts arts and culture author ballot measures basketball bomb books boy scouts budget bullying business charlie hales children clackamas climate change coal college courts crime culture culture club democrats drugs economy education environment family film fluoride food gay rights guns handguns health health care health insurance high school history housing immigration international internet kitzhaber law legislature lgbt literary arts living marijuana marriage media medicine mental health military minor parties mohamed mohamud movies music native americans news newspaper obama olympics oregon our town parenting pers photography police politcs politics port portland portland business journal president prevention public safety religion republicans rnc romney rural salem sam adams sandy hook schools science shooting sports suicide supreme court taxes technology television terrorism theater third parties transportation union university of oregon washington wildfire women

Libraries are the center of community empowerment and are critical to our democracy.  Without libraries, we would continue to see a widening of education and economic disparities. I believe we have a moral obligation to provide a strong public library infrastructure. 

However, even if you do not believe in collective social responsibility and are a “hard nosed economic realist” it is critical to realize that public libraries drive economic development.  A simple Internet search of public libraries and return on investment or economic impact will yield dozens of studies demonstrating a 4 or 500% return on investments in public libraries.  For example here is one fairly recent and comprehensive study: “ Making Cities Stronger: Public Library Contributions to Local Economic Development:  http://www.scls.info/building/making_cities_stronger.pdf

So whether you are the stereotypical bleeding heart liberal or conservative libertarian the social and economic values of strong public libraries are common ground.

posted 2 years, 10 months ago
view in context

What is interesting to me is that the news media largely frames the issue as budget cuts, innefficiencies, bloated payroll and benefits.  While there may be an occasional story about ...gasp... the concept of raising revenues... The major framing of the issue is always on those terrible innefficient schools with waste and abuse and huge teacher salaries with the status quo being preserved by the thugs called the teachers' union.

It is all about getting rid of inefficiencies until that inefficiency might be called an affluent high school district like Grant. Then it becomes an issue of stupid school administrators that we will pile 2 dozen lawyers on top of.

Have a show on the unequal distribution of wealth, the possibilitiy of raising corporate taxes to adequately sustain the education infrastucture that Oregon industry is the direct beneficiary of and then you might have a meaningul conversation about priorities.

Until then, I suggest we cut the state subsidies and grants to OPB and redirect that money to keeping school librarians employed

posted 2 years, 10 months ago
view in context