Balancing a budget

[cowboy43]

Tex. has to have a black operating budget, so their is going to be a lot of budget cutting this year, 29 billion has to be cut without raising taxes. Also it seems the schools, cities and counties are all cutting budgets. It is interesting to watch how people want to cut the budget and taxes, but does not want what affects them cut, they all say their has to be another way but no one has another way or suggestion, because their is no other way without raising taxes. I do not mean this to be political if it is delete it.
Just heard Austin Schools has to cut 113 million and is looking at closing 9 schools and cutting personel.

 

[Lammie]

Proposed 72% cut in funding for libraries receiving state money. That's gonna pretty much close us down as a community library.

But he77, who needs libraries anyway? We are only 48th in education. Let's shoot for 50th.

 

[TexasBred]

Proposed 72% cut in funding for libraries receiving state money. That's gonna pretty much close us down as a community library.

But he77, who needs libraries anyway? We are only 48th in education. Let's shoot for 50th.

That's what I was thinking...Who needs libraries?? Most people have internet access and that is the library. Most kids are already given a laptop when they begin school along with internet access. Not picking on you Lammie but most are nothing more than a place to hang out like the suspicious guy you were discussing last week. All the books and teachers in the world won't educate anyone that doesn't want to be educated.

 

[backhoeboogie]

It is indeed extremely difficult to stay away from the political aspects.

I am all for a balanced budget. You cannot keep robbing from Peter when Peter has nothing left to steal.

We all have a different view of neccessities. In my opinion some programs could be cut in their entirety without causing a ripple. Other things need more funding.

Our ancestors invented everything. They had needs born out of neccessity. They were innovative. My generation was somewhat spoiled. Not many of them seem innovative to me yet they had all this wonderful education and free rides too. (I am 51 years old BTW)

 

[cowboy43]

Books will be antiques in the future like encyclopedias are now because of computers. Saw on news schools were thinking of not teaching cursive writing anymore because kids no longer needed it.

 

[TexasBred]

Books will be antiques in the future like encyclopedias are now because of computers. Saw on news schools were thinking of not teaching cursive writing anymore because kids no longer needed it.

I don't see where it's needed. Heck I print everything now except my name. Foreign language should be an elective as well as a lot of other courses.

 

[Lammie]

In a small town like the one in which I work, the library is more than a library. It is a community in itself in a community that lacks places for people to gather. This is where we meet. This is where we gather when someone dies or retires. This is the place where seniors go to find diversion in books or in human interaction. This is the place where kids can go to stay out of trouble in a town where there is a lot of trouble that can be had.

Some people, and I know this shocks you, don't have internet access.

Some people, and I know this will really shock you, LIKE to read. Like the feel of a book in hand.

I have had a battered woman come in here seeking help. I've helped people find services to make their lives easier. I have made friends. This is where people go where there isn't anywhere else to go, and you'd like to see it closed.

I hope you are never in the position where the only thing left in your life is a trip to the library to get your week worth of mysteries and thirty minutes of human interaction.

Yeah, some people are annoying, even menacing. But I can't loose sight of the things we do here. Far more than books.

I'm sure I'll find something else to do if we do close. I am not so sure about the people who count on us for far more than books.

But, screw those folks.

 

[cowboy43]

Lammie I agree with you about reading books I read an hour or two daily , I just like to see all of what I am reading at one time by holding a book. I also wonder how long the world can keep advancing without turning around and going backward. All that needs to be done is explode an A bomb a short distance into the atmosphere , it will not be felt on earth but will burn out every electric circuit, computers in cars also, half the size of the US, how many people can now go back to the days before electricity and telephones. Not trying to be morbid but we live in a fragil time. Us country boys will survive.

 

[TexasBred]

Same old thing...everybody wanting something for free. One reason the library probably runs a deficit. Do they even charge fines anymore? It's a library now a rec. center.

 

[Brute 23]

It is going to be tough the first years but people will adapt. Alot of these schools have all this landscaping and other stuff that does not effect education. They need to make those cuts. If the town or people in that school district feel it is that important to be landscaped... they the can get the money together and get it done.

Its time for people to get creative and figure out how to make things work. It will hard at first but will pay off in the long run.

In a small town like the one in which I work, the library is more than a library. It is a community in itself in a community that lacks places for people to gather. This is where we meet. This is where we gather when someone dies or retires. This is the place where seniors go to find diversion in books or in human interaction. This is the place where kids can go to stay out of trouble in a town where there is a lot of trouble that can be had.

Some people, and I know this shocks you, don't have internet access.

Some people, and I know this will really shock you, LIKE to read. Like the feel of a book in hand.

I have had a battered woman come in here seeking help. I've helped people find services to make their lives easier. I have made friends. This is where people go where there isn't anywhere else to go, and you'd like to see it closed.

I hope you are never in the position where the only thing left in your life is a trip to the library to get your week worth of mysteries and thirty minutes of human interaction.

Yeah, some people are annoying, even menacing. But I can't loose sight of the things we do here. Far more than books.

I'm sure I'll find something else to do if we do close. I am not so sure about the people who count on us for far more than books.

But, screw those folks.

If the library is so important to your town... then your town needs to raise the funds for it. Not depend on tax dollars from all the other towns across Texas. There is a thought... you get what you earn. ;-) Sounds like a great place but the sooner people learn to help themselves and their neighbor with out the gov being involved the better off we all will be.

 

[upfrombottom]

I may be alone in my way of thinking, but schools and libraries should be the last funding to be cut. A more appropriate thing to do with an education budget is state by law exactly what the monies they receive can be spent on, building maintenance, salaries, etc.... To think just because you don't use a library, others don't need one is kinda selfish. I have used the library on many occasions when I was furthering my education, and contrary to popular belief, not everything is on the Internet, and if it is, not all of the information is reliable. As stated not everyone has the Internet, or even have a computer for that matter. Should a person be denied an education just because they or the community they live in is poor?

 

[TexasBred]

I may be alone in my way of thinking, but schools and libraries should be the last funding to be cut. A more appropriate thing to do with an education budget is state by law exactly what the monies they receive can be spent on, building maintenance, salaries, etc.... To think just because you don't use a library, others don't need one is kinda selfish. I have used the library on many occasions when I was furthering my education, and contrary to popular belief, not everything is on the Internet, and if it is, not all of the information is reliable. As stated not everyone has the Internet, or even have a computer for that matter. Should a person be denied an education just because they or the community they live in is poor?

Bet they all have friends...jsut as easy to "use a friend and his resources" as it is to use the library. That's what friends are for. But as for schools...teach the core courses and drop some of the numerous electives. Don't require foreign languages. You can learn mexican on the street...and speak it like they do, not like the king of Spain speaks. My old HS just put down turf on the football field and added "1" (yeah "1") additional lane to the track around the field. They average winning about 4 games a year and have one track meet a year. A cool million for that. It will last just long enough to get it paid for an will have to be replaced. AND they still have portable buildings on every campus for "instruction". Not a big school either. Do libraries still have a card catalog?? Does anybody know how to use it??

 

[Lammie]

We actually don't get a lot of funding from the state, and if that goes away, our beloved director is committed to keeping at least some of the hours we lose. We receive no money from the city. On the odd occasion when people do complain about services, we point them in the direction of City Hall and invite them to make their voices heard. We do charge fines, although we are not in the business of making money.

Books are expensive and this is one way that people can read without having to travel to another town to buy books. I have around 23,000 volumes here. Not a large collection. People do appreciate us, though. And I believe that people need us. This school and this library, are the only chance that some have to access books. I have seen a spark go off in a student's eyes when he or she finds that they actually enjoy reading. Life is about more than surfing the net. Ebooks and the devices that are used to access them, are out of the range that most of our patrons can afford. We are a poor communtiy. And most communities of this size do not have a public library of any sort.

We are unique in that we are one of just a handful of school/community libraries in this state. It would be a shame to lose it.

 

[ga.prime]

Remember that book "The Five Chinese Brothers"? One could swallow the sea, one had an iron neck, one was fireproof, one could stretch his legs to great lengths, and one could hold his breath forever? I loved that book when I was a kid. Checked it out at the library one time and when I got home to read it I found out it was written in Chinese. All I could do was look at the pictures.

 

[Lammie]

Remember that book "The Five Chinese Brothers"? One could swallow the sea, one had an iron neck, one was fireproof, one could stretch his legs to great lengths, and one could hold his breath forever? I loved that book when I was a kid. Checked it out at the library one time and when I got home to read it I found out it was written in Chinese. All I could do was look at the pictures.

One of my faves when i was a kid! You can get it in English... I'll bet it is out of print now.

 

[upfrombottom]

Bet they all have friends...jsut as easy to "use a friend and his resources" as it is to use the library. That's what friends are for.

Boy you have lived a sheltered life, if you think the poor and the wealthy are best of friends and share all their resources.

 

[backhoeboogie]

We had schools and we had libraries way back before we had all these budget issues. The internet may indeed make libraries take the drive-in movie route just like Wally World drove out maw and paw. But we used to could afford basic neccessities? What happened? I could tell you but it would run me outside of Macon's guidelines

 

[TexasBred]

Bet they all have friends...jsut as easy to "use a friend and his resources" as it is to use the library. That's what friends are for.

Boy you have lived a sheltered life, if you think the poor and the wealthy are best of friends and share all their resources.

Where the hel did you find that bimbo?? :dunce: Reading between the lines don't work.

 

[ga.prime]

Remember that book "The Five Chinese Brothers"? One could swallow the sea, one had an iron neck, one was fireproof, one could stretch his legs to great lengths, and one could hold his breath forever? I loved that book when I was a kid. Checked it out at the library one time and when I got home to read it I found out it was written in Chinese. All I could do was look at the pictures.

One of my faves when i was a kid! You can get it in English... I'll bet it is out of print now.

Probably is out of print now. My Mom bought me a copy in English many,many years ago which I read to my children many years later.

 

[john250]

I read that story. I think it was in a collection of fables from around the world, but I'm a little foggy on books read to me.
So, the brother who could swallow the ocean did his thing and the others were wandering around out on the ocean floor for some reason and for some reason the ocean guy couldn't hold it anymore. Am I even close?