Walker Cuts Funding for Libraries

MARK KARLIN, EDITOR OF BUZZFLASH FOR TRUTHOUT

If you think the incessant coverage of a reality television star, the repeatedly bankrupt Donald Trump, is proof of the dumbing down of America, Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin is working hard at making his citizens dumber.

Not only is Walker conducting an assault on public education and teachers – as well as trying to implement plans that would make the highly regarded University of Wisconsin a political football – he’s slashing the state budget for libraries.

According to the Madison paper Isthmus,

Under Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed budget, Wisconsin libraries would see their funding requests cut by more than $18.9 million in 2012 alone, threatening a wide variety of services, including those for job-seekers and the blind….

“Officially? Nobody’s saying they’re taking retirement, but people are dropping like flies,” says Rhonda Puntney, Wisconsin Library Association president.

The cuts come at a particularly bad time, as workers struggle to recover from the recession, says Puntney.

“It’s not just books and story times and computer access,” she says. “We’re helping people look for jobs and learn computer skills, so they can apply for jobs. That’s been a really big focus, especially for adult services. A lot of places have really stepped up, especially places like Racine and Beloit, with programs specifically geared toward job hunters.”

So, not only will the residents of Wisconsin have less access to library services for education and reading, Walker’s cuts will have an impact on the ability of jobless people to utilize them for research and retraining assistance.

When you run an authoritarian “Daddy State,” ignorance, for your vassals and jobless, may be bliss.