You see, one of the things that makes me mad about policy discourse at the federal level is the household analogy, where we “need to tighten our belts” in times of trouble but that is the exact opposite response since it only exacerbates the times of trouble. The constraints at the higher level are not one of finances but resources that become idle just when politicians say it is time for austerity.
As much as I hate it at the federal level, that analogy is somewhat true at the local level, because we are constrained not just by the tax base, but state laws limit how much and how quickly holes can be filled. You can have referenda, but there are always competing priorities both within and between governmental units.
The best thing you can do as a leftist, in my opinion, is to make sure that the institutions you have power over are run as efficiently as possible. Milwaukee kept electing socialists in the twentieth century because so called “sewer socialism” worked in maintaining efficient and equitable public services.
There is a next step though. When I was knocking doors for the referendum in 2016, the thing that I tried to emphasize was that the library was for more than books. The library is a community center, and it has evolved from the mass-literacy project spearheaded by Andrew Carnegie 100 years ago. As the role changes, the library has always been a center of information. That is why I am so excited for projects like this in Edwardsville. Having a social worker on site can help people with coordination issues connecting with the state at different levels, and the library is by definition in your neighborhood. Navigating the social welfare system is time consuming and relies on much individual savvy from individuals, so I am glad to see this sort of thing expand – perhaps even into Brookfield. Creating access to social workers connects the most needy to programs that could help. The problem is making sure that people are aware of the program.
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