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After visiting the new public library in Springfield, I'm rethinking how much we should spend on shared spaces.
I saw the $18 million building with its huge glass walls and quiet reading gardens, and while part of me thinks it's a beautiful, vital investment for the community, another part wonders if that money could have been better used for more urgent needs like road repairs or teacher salaries, so what do you think is the right balance for public spending on civic projects?
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elliot_gibson2723d ago
Man, I gotta disagree. That $18 million sounds like a lot, but nice libraries are one of the few free, quiet places left for everyone. If we only fix roads and pay teachers, which are super important, we end up with no good shared spaces to actually bring people together.
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evan_green5224d ago
Our town built a smaller branch library for $9 million and it's packed every weekend. It convinced me these spaces pay off over time.
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