Like it or not, cuts will come
We college students are boiling with outrage that our state funding is being threatened. As is typical of student protests, we’re shouting warnings like “40 percent equals death” and “This budget cut will make Arizona a Third World nation.” We all know that cutting educational funding is suicidal, and the Legislature needs to come up with another plan.
Unfortunately, we live in the real world, and here, there’s not much else to cut. Education expenses make up the majority of the Arizona General Fund. Where else should we cut funding? Other major state programs include the Department of Corrections, the Department of Economic Security and the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System. But wouldn’t taking 40 percent out of the Department of Corrections’ budget also equal death? Wouldn’t reducing funding for unemployment benefits also make Arizona a Third World nation? Wouldn’t cutting our Medicaid program also be suicidal?
Maybe we could just raise taxes. As if taking $2 billion more out of taxpayers’ pockets during a major recession weren’t suicidal.
Perhaps Arizona should be able to run a deficit to continue funding these programs during hard economic times. But amending the state constitution to allow this would take at least 90 days, too late for a budget proposal.
No one wants a budget cut, but cuts must come. Perhaps we are justified in protesting this particular proposal, but abrasive, exaggerated complaints aren’t likely to get us anywhere. We have to give something up — reality is against us. So let’s steel our guts, breathe deeply and take the necessary cuts with dignity.
Jakob Hansen
Undergraduate