This is not true. I see plenty of space in public libraries and many books never read. Also I do not see huge crowds on free sidewalks. Air is still plentiful.
Libraries are a poor analogy, and you know it. Americans, sadly, are much less interested in books that other entertainment mediums these days.
Also I do not see huge crowds on free sidewalks.
In the urban centers I visit, the sidewalks always seem very crowded to me.
On the subject of wages; I see no problem with toll collectors getting $20/hr if they can get it. Wages are in essence an agreement between the buyer (employer) and seller (employee) of a service for an agreed-upon price. If the seller can get more for their skill, more power to them. If the buyer can get the same service cheaper elsewhere, bully on them as well. It's where wages are dictated by external influences that I have a problem: The minimum wage, for one, keeps wages artificially high. On the other hand, the influx if illegal foreign labor keeps wages artificially low. This leads to what we see now: A continually shrinking middle class.
At our library, you have to pay to park in the adjacent lot and it's almost always near full (it's downtown).