Today’s column (gift link) makes a simple argument for public libraries. And yet, it emerges from a mind boiling with frustration. I want to shake people. I want to tell them, “I know things are bad. We don’t have to make it worse.”
As all the money in our substantial economy rushes upward like oil in water, everything beautiful, warm, welcoming and shared is being smothered out of our communities. Is it ideology? I don’t know. It’s certainly cultural and political.
We seem hellbent on hiding in our homes, trading our assets for illusions of security, inferior products, tech that spies on us, and subscriptions to a million things that used to be free. If we experience any doubt, we turn to a machine that co-opts our brain chemistry. Invariably, some smiling face or AI slop will compel us to stay angry and do nothing.
That’s why severe cuts to the budgets of nearly every library within a two hour drive has me so disillusioned. More than a century ago, the world’s richest man gave away his fortune to build public libraries across the country. Today, the world’s richest men build hideaways and invest in unproven technology that seeks to replace not just human work, but human consciousness.
For a little money — a couple bomb’s worth, tops — a local library can stay open to serve everyone, all year round. In today’s column, I argue that budgets should work for society, not the other way around.
Read “High costs? Budget cuts? Even more reason to protect public libraries” in the Monday, Jan. 5, 2026 edition of the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Aaron J. Brown is a columnist and member of the editorial board for the Minnesota Star Tribune. His new book about Hibbing Mayor Victor Power and his momentous fight against the world’s largest corporation will be out soon.
