Friday, February 4, 2011

More Budget Cuts in Washington State

State budget cuts are starting to hit home here in Washington. Several Washington colleges and universities were on the capitol steps in Olympia today to protest the cuts in the state’s higher education budget.

These are tough times and they call for tough measures. I know everyone feels that their programs shouldn’t see any cuts and their reason are all valid. When Governor Gregoire cut the budget for state funded health services, those folks were up in arms, and justifiably so. Now the state universities and colleges are also facing budget cuts and they too are upset, again, with justification.

Everyone has to sacrifice in some manner. In tough budget times like these, there are few, if any, sacred cows. Hard calls have to be made. Look at the state of New Jersey. Gov. Chris Christie has proposed $173M be cut from the state budget and cops have already been laid off in cities such as Trenton. The crises in NJ seems to be worse than those here, but Gov Gregoire is facing the same tough decisions. While I am not a supporter of the Democrat Governor, I do wish her the best of luck as she tries to work with the state legislature to figure out ways to reduce the budget deficit that will have the least impact

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