How do we make the good stuff more marketable?

[taterguy]

The library in my town was built in the 1950s with an addition added in the 1970s. It’s cramped, a bit ugly and woefully short on resources. Lots of the books I want to read are either unavailable or have very long waiting lists.

Naturally the local government says there’s no money whenever people suggest upgrading the library.

Here’s what the jail is like: It was built in 1995 and can house 1,100 prisoners, about 800 more than the jail it replaced. There’s more people here and a bit more crime in the past 12 years but there sure as hell aren’t four times as many dangerous thugs running around that need to be separated from society.

Nevertheless, the local government is eager to spend $5,000,000 expanding the jail.

:wtf:

Why?

I think a lot of it is perception.

Jails are necessities.

Libraries are luxuries.

So here’s my question for you smart creative DU types:

How do we convince the powers that be that unglamorous things like libraries, schools and basic infrastructure are just as vitally important as our ability to lock up people?

I honestly don’t know which is why I’m asking.

If I don’t respond to your feedback immediately it’s because I’m distracted by the latest video game.

Sigh.

[Didereaux]

1. local jails 'rent' to the federal and state govs...in effect they are 'rent-a-cells'

[taterguy]

2. Interesting but that doesn't answer my question

[Didereaux]

9. politics of expenses vs taxes...simple really! revenue enhancement without direct taxing

furnish another source of revenue for the politicians and you will have libraries. If that means proposing new or increased taxes, put on your kevlar immediately!

[MercutioATC]

3. Jails are also revenue-generators.

If your community has 800 spare beds for rent, they're going to make quite a bit of money on that $5m investment.

I agree with your sentiments, but it's probably a money issue in this case.

[taterguy]

4. Their "customers" are other entities that I pay taxes to

So maybe I should ask how we can come up with a scam to have federal and state governments shell out more money to libraries.

[SmokingJacket]

5. I throw up my hands.

Seriously.

If we change education to emphasize literature and liberal values, maybe fifteen years from now we'll see some changes. Other than that...

:shrug:

[Cleita]

6. You have to make it personal. Point out the advantages

of a better library to them. You can also mention that if those people who end up in jail had better educational opportunities and resources including libraries, they might not be in jail but working at productive jobs.

[NC_Nurse]

7. People need a better library to feed their minds so

they don't succumb to the temptations to feed themselves drugs or ill-gotten material goods/money.

The opportunity to enrich the community with a state of the art library facility could be seen as a crime
prevention strategy. Especially if it's used as a learning center that is inviting to all ages.


:think:

[awaysidetraveler]

8. Get them to put the library in the prison, call it rehabilitation.

Then get your library to circulate books through the prison. That way, the warden has something to spend money on, the librarian wins, and whoever puts it together gets political connections.

[Bongo Prophet]

10. Faith based libraries with free childcare facilities? Ok I kid.

The best thing I can think of is at the low level - change the drug laws.
This would dry up the market for the prison industry, and help human rights and freedom at the same time.
Allowing police to focus on other issues would help, and the tax revenues saved would be enormous.


Easy, huh?
You are right, it is a complex and entrenched scam that leverages fear and control issues at a deep psychological level.

A shared sigh.

[grasswire]

11. follow the money

The prison industrial complex has robbed local communities of the money that could have been spent on parks, schools, libraries, the arts, etc., and funneled cash to America's corporations who profit from imprisonment. And those corporations include such as Frito-Lay, Hershey, construction industry, clothing manufacturers, telecoms, lenders, and so many more.

This was done by frightening the American populace. Chaos capitalism. Get a few politicians out there screaming about the dangers to your women and children, and you can sell the voters anything.

Sick. Twisted.

[taterguy]

13. So how do we change the money trail?

That's what I'm interested in. Innovative solutions, not just bitching and moaning.

There's nothing wrong with bitching and moaning and I do plenty of it but right now I'd like to focus on positive things.

[grasswire]

14. get good people elected to local government

Get a seat on the county commission or the city council. Join the Friends of the Library and get your friends to join, too. Get volunteers to take the library to the community.

One person really can bring about a ripple effect. Often, those boards are filled with people who are calcified in thinking the old way and doing the old way. They will resist change, but determination can prevail.

In Ashland Oregon, I believe the libraries had to close because of lack of funding. Imagine that. Libraries full of books, closed down. That's not America.

Go get 'em!

[taterguy]

15. I dunno, doesn't seem like there's too much interest

This thread sunk like a stone.

[Rosemary2205]

12. LOCK UP ALL THE POOR PEOPLE !!

That's the goal. Rich people don't want to share the wealth. They think it's better to keep poor people poor by making education as difficult as possible and the bonus is getting to lock them up for "resisting arrest" when a poor person is stopped for no reason at all and balks. All those little petty crimes many people in desperation engage in work fine too. Whatever it takes to keep the poorest as poor as possible.

The idiotic thing is, if the rich people took the money they spend on jails and paid it out in salaries for decent jobs in poor neighborhoods instead, the jails would not even be necessary in the first place and everyone wins.

It's idiotic.

[kineneb]

16. "children who spend time in librarys stay out of jail"

or "children who read, stay out of jail"

Spend the money up front or spend even more in the end.

Penny wise, pound foolish.

Picture one: child looking into closed library, picture two: inmate looking out of bars. Caption: Pay (for libraries) now or pay (for jails) later.