I am not sure that I buy the idea that Snyder will invest in universities "when times are better." I think that is a cop-out answer. As our society shifts away from manufacturing and more into service based industries, having a college degree is vital for the success of most people. Growing up in a manufacturing town, I have witnessed a lot of adults losing their jobs at GM and being forced to go back to school. Education is an important tool, especially in our state. Budget cuts do need to be made, but in what areas? I believe our state should look at cutting back in other areas such as our state prisons. We currently have more people in prison than any other state surrounding the great lakes. I highly doubt we have more criminals, our legislation is just tougher.
I agree with you that cutting university spending is not the right way to go about budget cuts. Like you state, our society has shifted out of blue collar jobs and into white collared ones. It is crucial that universities get the financing they need which allows them to keep tuition low. With jobs being lost in the factories and adults that have lost their jobs are going back to school, it is important that the cost of them going back to school is not risen or else it will be very difficult for these people to compete in the job market. Like you stated, budget cuts need to be done in different areas where there is poorly used spending for example some welfare programs. The bridge card for example is a poorly run program. While many college students may like it, it is often misused and too many people are taking advantage of it that may not need the support. I know too many people that use this program that come from very well off families that apply for this program and recieve it just because their bank accounts are low yet they can still recieve help from their families.
Jackie, while I agree that cutting education is a major blow for the future of our state, the question then becomes, "Where do we cut from?" Nobody wants to have anything that they are involved in cut but Gov. Snyder has to cut a lot if he sticks with his promise of not hurting the tax climate. I agree a bit with Gov. Snyder in saying that in the short term education, Medicaid, and corrections will be cut yet they will regain their funding later on. The $1.8 billion deficit that he must overcome will not be easy but I believe he is on the right track in order to prevent not only a short term crisis but also to turn around this long term recession in our state.
I agree with mitch. One of the reasons why our budget is in such dire straits is because it's so hard to cut spending. Simply put, people like their programs. Medicaid users like more medicaid funds- students like education funding- but with a 1.8 billion dollar deficit it becomes neccisary to cut back. The question is- what cutbacks will effect Michigan's recovery the least? A modest decrease in university funding will alleviate the deficit without harming economic growth in the short run. This is a serious proposal that ought to be considered. If Lansing takes the easy road and raises taxes to meet this shortfall, we will probably have to cut university funding even further. Time to be tough now.
Our budget is the way it is because no one wants to cut funding for THEIR projects. This is unrealistic in these economic times. Somewhere, a line has to be drawn and things have to be cut. It sucks that higher education is one of the things to go but it is also one of the most costly items on the budget. Fifteen public universities? That's nuts. I think states like Wisconsin that have one public university might be the way to go. I like having options and being able to choose which school to go to but there are a lot of duplicate programs within schools. It's gotten to the point where you can go to almost any school in the state and get a similar degree. Higher education has to somehow figure out a way to consolidate programs and become more cost-efficient.
Also, another reason why higher education is continually cut is because our generation is the least likely to go vote on issues such has program and budget cutting. We have our heads stuck in the sand while people are voting to cut our money. One way to change that is to actually start caring about issues and voting and writing to your representatives. If you don't, then you have no reason to complain because you didn't make the effort to change it.
I am not sure that I buy the idea that Snyder will invest in universities "when times are better." I think that is a cop-out answer. As our society shifts away from manufacturing and more into service based industries, having a college degree is vital for the success of most people. Growing up in a manufacturing town, I have witnessed a lot of adults losing their jobs at GM and being forced to go back to school. Education is an important tool, especially in our state. Budget cuts do need to be made, but in what areas? I believe our state should look at cutting back in other areas such as our state prisons. We currently have more people in prison than any other state surrounding the great lakes. I highly doubt we have more criminals, our legislation is just tougher.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that cutting university spending is not the right way to go about budget cuts. Like you state, our society has shifted out of blue collar jobs and into white collared ones. It is crucial that universities get the financing they need which allows them to keep tuition low. With jobs being lost in the factories and adults that have lost their jobs are going back to school, it is important that the cost of them going back to school is not risen or else it will be very difficult for these people to compete in the job market. Like you stated, budget cuts need to be done in different areas where there is poorly used spending for example some welfare programs. The bridge card for example is a poorly run program. While many college students may like it, it is often misused and too many people are taking advantage of it that may not need the support. I know too many people that use this program that come from very well off families that apply for this program and recieve it just because their bank accounts are low yet they can still recieve help from their families.
ReplyDeleteJackie, while I agree that cutting education is a major blow for the future of our state, the question then becomes, "Where do we cut from?" Nobody wants to have anything that they are involved in cut but Gov. Snyder has to cut a lot if he sticks with his promise of not hurting the tax climate. I agree a bit with Gov. Snyder in saying that in the short term education, Medicaid, and corrections will be cut yet they will regain their funding later on. The $1.8 billion deficit that he must overcome will not be easy but I believe he is on the right track in order to prevent not only a short term crisis but also to turn around this long term recession in our state.
ReplyDeleteI agree with mitch. One of the reasons why our budget is in such dire straits is because it's so hard to cut spending. Simply put, people like their programs. Medicaid users like more medicaid funds- students like education funding- but with a 1.8 billion dollar deficit it becomes neccisary to cut back.
ReplyDeleteThe question is- what cutbacks will effect Michigan's recovery the least? A modest decrease in university funding will alleviate the deficit without harming economic growth in the short run. This is a serious proposal that ought to be considered. If Lansing takes the easy road and raises taxes to meet this shortfall, we will probably have to cut university funding even further. Time to be tough now.
Our budget is the way it is because no one wants to cut funding for THEIR projects. This is unrealistic in these economic times. Somewhere, a line has to be drawn and things have to be cut. It sucks that higher education is one of the things to go but it is also one of the most costly items on the budget. Fifteen public universities? That's nuts. I think states like Wisconsin that have one public university might be the way to go. I like having options and being able to choose which school to go to but there are a lot of duplicate programs within schools. It's gotten to the point where you can go to almost any school in the state and get a similar degree. Higher education has to somehow figure out a way to consolidate programs and become more cost-efficient.
ReplyDeleteAlso, another reason why higher education is continually cut is because our generation is the least likely to go vote on issues such has program and budget cutting. We have our heads stuck in the sand while people are voting to cut our money. One way to change that is to actually start caring about issues and voting and writing to your representatives. If you don't, then you have no reason to complain because you didn't make the effort to change it.