We wholeheartedly agree with City Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young that Baltimore needs to invest more in its youth, but we don't think this charter amendment is the right way to do it. The measure calls for three cents of every $100 in assessed value in the city to be placed in the Children and Youth Fund — currently the equivalent of about $11 million a year. That would come on top of the hundreds of millions the city already spends on education, before and after school programs and recreation. We object on principle to mandating an arbitrary level of spending for any cause, no matter how worthwhile. When tough times come for the city budget — as they do with regularity — such a requirement will force the city to cut from other vital needs regardless of the relative merits of whatever programs (as yet undefined) that will get funding from this set-aside.