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Old 10-28-2011, 09:31 PM   #65
BWinmill
Nameless Being
 
I have found that most of the people who complain about taxes do so because they don't want to pay taxes, not because they cannot afford it. And as libertarian as some people may try to sound, they'll squeal as soon as someone threatens to dismantle infrastructure that they deem essential. I'm sorry to be blunt, but I have found that is how people tend to be over such things.

Libraries serve many important social functions. They are probably the cheapest form of education, way to provide employment resources, way to provide business resources, way to promote arts and culture, and so forth. They are cheap because their collections serve so many purposes. They are cheap because their spaces provide so many purposes. They are cheap because they do what every civil society should do: share their resources.

Libraries are also places where every sector of society meet, from the homeless to the wealthy. So it isn't a matter of saying that they shouldn't be supported because they serve one group of people over another. No librarian is going to kick out a successful business person for using their databases for business purposes (and why should they, they pay taxes too). No librarian is going to give a homeless man the boot because they want to escape the streets for the printed word.

But if you really insist that libraries are a burden and ought to be dismantled, can I please insist that some of the government programs that I disagree with be dismantled. I mean huge globs of money would be saved if most of the roads were torn up, leaving only enough capacity was left for commercial vehicles and public transportation (heck, I'd even be willing to pay the real costs of public transportation through my fares if that happened).
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