Defund Libraries. Create a Nation of Fools.

Defund libraries. Create a nation of fools.

St Louis Post Dispatch:  3.27.2016 by the Editorial Board

Little did the Plainfield, Ill., Public Library District supporters know that the Americans for Prosperity had them in their sights.

By the time they found out that they had been targeted by a national political action committee opposed to taxes and government regulation, it was too late. The robocalls and misinformation were relentless, distributed by the influential conservative committee funded by Charles and David Koch.

Plainfield needed to raise $39 million to replace a 26-year-old library that no longer meets community needs. Thanks to the Koch brothers’ onslaught, the community of slightly fewer than 40,000 failed on March 15 to pass a bond issue and a property tax increase.

St. Louisans are facing a similar campaign regarding the city’s 1 percent earnings tax. Local financier and tax opponent Rex Sinquefield is spending $2 million to fight the tax, which raises about $160 million a year and accounts for a third of the city’s general revenue budget.

Voters who will decide on April 5 whether to continue the earnings tax should keep the Plainfield experience in mind. Taking away tax money needed to fund services — whether libraries, police or fire districts — cripples communities and hurts the people who live there.  READ MORE @

Bill to change library funding halted

A bill that would change funding for public libraries in Kansas has stalled after library advocates spoke against it.

McPherson Sentinel: 3.28.2016 by Josh Arnett

The *bill would make it optional for cities to fund public libraries. Currently, library funding is a requirement.

Opponents said if cities choose not to provide funds, libraries could be devastated and even closed down.  READ MORE @

*Librarians, others throw book at House bill clipping tax authority  House Bill 2719

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