Editor:
The letter by Heather Flowe in the Jan. 22 issue of the Guardian regarding increasing student fees, and more generally complaints from all quarters about how budget cuts will affect them, is indicative of the attitude that got us in this mess in the first place. The attitude is one of “”I agree the budget needs to be cut … as long as it doesn’t affect me.””
The reason that it is so hard to cut budgets is because any time someone tries to lower spending on anything, there is a special interest group right there to make sure its funding doesn’t get cut. No one wants to be the governor who cut education spending, or cut cancer research, or cut medical coverage, etc. But no matter what it is you cut, there will be a shrill cry screaming, “”You can’t cut this program! There will be dires consequences,”” etc.
So to the people who complain about spending decreases and fee hikes: What do you propose we cut spending on? Because no matter what you suggest, I guarantee someone will be there to scream just as loudly as you, and offer arguments why their program’s spending should not be cut just as eloquently as you.
We may never have a leader who has the political capital to make these hard but necessary cuts, all the while weathering the storm of people defaming him for cutting “”vitally important”” programs.
So, I suggest you do as I did and write the governor, thanking him for taking these hard steps, which will cost him politically in the short term, but that are necessary in the long run.
-Vincent Perry
Revelle College senior