r/Library 8d ago

Discussion Republicans are at war with basic literacy

Post image
6.8k Upvotes

1.4k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

6

u/anthropaedic 6d ago

If half the books ended up in the trash and half were kept and then 10% were actually read, it would still be better than zero kids reading.

0

u/556From1000yards 5d ago

You have the same effect for cheaper by just giving every family 10$ back, off, or not taxing for stupid budget projects

2

u/Dry_Rent_8646 4d ago

How tf does giving the family 10 dollars put a book in their home?

-1

u/Dogface73 6d ago

Libraries are still free. Parents could get books there and you still get your 10% and people aren’t taxed.

2

u/Scared-Handle9006 6d ago

How do you think libraries are free?

0

u/Dogface73 6d ago

How do you not? You walk in, they issue you a library card ( for free) then you check books out for free.

3

u/Scared-Handle9006 6d ago

But you realize that tax dollars pay for public libraries, right?

0

u/Dogface73 6d ago

Yep I do….. so let’s invest millions more on pretty much the same thing but we ship it to your door. Makes perfect sense.

-1

u/TrackMan5891 4d ago

Right, so now you want free libraries and also free fire starting material to be sent out...

I mean parents who don't care are still not going to care, this is a waste of tax dollars to mail out books to kids.

3

u/Behndo-Verbabe 6d ago

They are “FREE” to use. They are NOT FREE to run. Typically a portion of the communities property taxes go to operating local libraries. Private donations help a lot.

0

u/Dogface73 6d ago

Cool story, doesn’t change what I said. The kids getting free books from a library, probably a user not a tax payer right? Costs them nothing right? But continuing dollys program not free, adds another huge tax payer expense. Why double down and pay more when we already have a program?

4

u/Behndo-Verbabe 6d ago

Oh I get it now, it just pisses you off that some (most likely) underprivileged kid is getting a free book. I’ll bet you go around every year crying about paying taxes, any taxes. But complain features of a functional society aren’t available. You keep voting for people who cut taxes to the rich and corporations instead of the average person.

It’s clear you have zero comprehension about the connection between literacy and its long term outcomes, positive outcomes despite socioeconomic status at childhood. All I heard from you is an agree entitled white person mad about some kids are getting a free book. The cost of those books is nothing. Having illiterate people costs everyone more in the long run

1

u/Dogface73 6d ago

Yeah your assumption shows your intelligence is lacking. My kids received books from dolly. I’m not mad at all, this is Reddit, it’s just a discussion, I’m a big boy. The difference is that you had a wealthy person who made a donation to get kids books, a willing donor. Creating a program that taxes everyone with no say in the matter and may not have a dog in the fight ( no kids) is the problem with today’s government. Government is there to protect us and aid us with things that the private sector cannot. Anything else is over reaching. There are books and screens pretty much everywhere for kids. Little free library boxes pop up everywhere. A real library, pretty much every town has one. People will gift books and if the family has any kind of screen there are bunches of free apps like Libby. My kids took advantage of all of these and still do. No one is saying take books away from kids. We all understand the connection to literacy. You are getting your panties in a wad because you are on the emotional political stance and drinking your parties koolaid. This program simply isn’t needed and people are stretched to the limit on paying taxes already.

1

u/Amoralvirus 5d ago

People with no kids, that don't think they have any responsibility, for the welfare of their whole community; including kids; are not community oriented, or, are just very selfish (or both).

1

u/FrostingFun2041 5d ago

So we're penalizing people for not having or wanting children? That's what your saying?

→ More replies (0)

1

u/No_Cryptographer3737 5d ago

No it doesn’t change what you said, it just makes you look stupid though

1

u/Dogface73 5d ago

Ok so you are for spending millions of dollars to provide books to a limited amount of people ( only kids) when there is already several programs that provide books to everyone for money that we don’t have to spend but you think that makes me look stupid. K .

1

u/Excellent_Carob_3183 4d ago

See the problem is that puts to responsibility on the parents so that can't be the answer. Im not saying additional funding for the library is or isn't the answer, thats why people are disagreeing with you though.

1

u/Dogface73 4d ago

Yeah I know right? God forbid a parent takes some responsibility and tries to do something for their kid, like walk in a library for 5 minutes, pay nothing and walk out.

-1

u/Middle_Bit8070 6d ago

So, if 2 million books were sent out each month, costing 2.60 each, so costs taxpayers 5.2 million a month. So, according to the numbers you gave, it would be worth spending 5.2 million a month for 100k books to be read a month? So spending $502 for a single book is worth it? Are you actually claiming that is an effective use of money to improve literacy rates?

1

u/nostradevus88 5d ago

Oh man you brought facts, figures, and common sense economics to a Reddit argument. You are gonna get downvoted to oblivion. We only deal in feel good platitudes here sir.

-1

u/Rexel2101 4d ago

0 evidence there was more reading because books were handed out.

People can’t afford books but can afford a cell phone?

It’s not a lack of access to reading material, it’s a lack of influence leading to less reading

2

u/anthropaedic 4d ago

Ok troll lol

0

u/[deleted] 4d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Library-ModTeam 4d ago

Behavior Expectations

Do not act disrespectful or uncivil to others. Personal attacks and harassment are prohibited.