Gangs are more important than libraries?!

Okay, it's a recession, it's a tough economic time for a county and city with more people than some states. However the latest in Los Angeles city leaders inability to understand the importance of the library in educating and building the quality of people is shocking. The LA Weekly ran a piece on the changes. Read the article here.

The general point is this:
1. Other cities have had to make cuts to the libraries, all the other major cities have made a point of trying to save their libraries understanding what a difference it makes for the city. Los Angeles keeps cutting the library more than any other public resource.

2. Villaragosa feels that cutting the funding for the libraries is better than cutting funding for gang intervention.

3. In parts of the city where gangs are more prevalent the libraries are closed two days a week: Sunday and Monday. Kids who used to have a quiet place to escape gang culture have essentially lost two days of freedom and two days of learning or reading.

4. I find the following shocking: "By the Weekly's calculations, Los Angeles taxpayers are shelling out $5,245 for each at-risk youth enrolled in GRYD. Reopening the 64 branch libraries on Mondays and the nine big libraries on Sundays and Mondays would cost just $10 million, according to Peter Persic, the library system's public relations and marketing director. With Los Angeles libraries serving up to 15,000 children daily, that works out to a cost to taxpayers of just 65 cents per child annually — probably to greater effect."

5. Use of the public library has increased not decreased during the recession. It is more than just books. "Reflecting the effects of the recession, visits to Los Angeles public libraries jumped from 16 million in 2007 to 16.6 million in 2008 and 17 million in 2009. In a city of 4 million, there's a major demand not just for free books to read but for free wireless and Internet access."

What bugs me most about this decision is that just yesterday it was noted in the paper that another supposed gang reduction group Homeboy Industries received $1.3 million from the city to continue its tattoo removal and gang intervention program. The number of people served by this $1.3 million= 665 or $1954 per person. The article is here.

This is personal to me in several ways (we had to live next door to one of the supposed gang intervention groups for three years) but mostly because the benefit is very difficult to trace or quantify. Much less many of these groups end up being shut down because it's just another way for gangs to get money from the city. These groups don't stop kids from joining gangs, they don't cut down on the number of thugs going to jail for gang related activity, nor do they truly protect people from the gangs. SO, tell me how do these people deserve the money and effort more than the libraries which have a proven track record?