By Anne Terhune
Editor SDUN

Not too long ago, when social scientists were wringing their hands over the plight of youths with no purpose, or prospects, in life, one thought that got a lot of traction was that communities need to offer wholesome activities for young people. You know, so they don’t hang out on the corner mugging people and stealing stuff.

Up went recreation centers, community swimming pools, special programs at libraries and all sorts of plans to engage children mentally and physically.

So I find it truly flabbergasting that the City of San Diego’s latest budget proposal slashes away at all these things for our children. In order to cover a $70 million deficit, it proposes:

• Closing 12 of 13 public city pools “indefinitely.” Not just a hiatus or furlough, but permanently closing.
• Closing nine recreation centers and two gymnasiums, and cutting the hours from 40 per week to 20 at the remaining rec centers. Simple math will show that 20 hours spread over only five days is a piddley four hours per day, let’s say after school. That leaves no hours on the weekends for basketball leagues, gymnastics classes, karate or whatever else.
• Closure of two libraries, with remaining neighborhood libraries paired and being open on alternating days. Not only that, but cutting library resources including children’s books.

I can’t believe this. I want to no believe this. After all the progress we have made with literacy projects, getting kids engaged in knowledge, inspiring children to turn off the TV and move their bodies, this is what our city leaders are proposing?

Well, they say the wolf is at the door (again). I can hear the “dire-emergency-gonna-lose-cops-and-firefighters” budget drums. But will the voters respond? Most years, somehow a few bucks are scraped up at the last minute to keep the beach fire pits (yes, those are also on the chopping block).

I don’t see how we can put a happy face on this news. This city is gutting (or threatening to gut) almost all the programs designed for its children. This isn’t right! Where’s our investment in the future?

And where’s all the money going, anyway? A large chunk is going to the city employees pensions, although it’s very hard to tell exactly how much if you try to wade through the city budget online, as I did. How will you people sleep at night, knowing that “you got yours” standing on the backs of this city’s children?

Pensions aren’t the only black hole where money vanishes, of course. The city still owes $145 million on the ballpark bonds, as near as I can tell. Gotta keep paying for that palace where the millionaire athletes perform for wealthy sports fans! Oh, and sorry there’s no Little League, kids, because we have to shut down the rec centers.

I understand that some of the dire predictions may be specifically engineered to herd us into voting for the Prop D tax increase (“temporary,” they claim). To the extent that any of the threatened cuts are bogus scare tactics, shame on you.

But shame on all of us if we allow our children to take this punch in the face without demanding that cuts first take place in other areas. I understand that young people cannot vote, so perhaps that is part of the blindness here. That is why we, parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, cousins must act to make the well being of our children a priority.