Student 8

Budget Cuts

The state of California has been dealing with budget cuts for a long time. However due to the stock market crashing and the economy going down hill it has worsen the problem. Our state government has been making some very tough decisions which haven’t been to popular with its residents. Some of the hardest programs that are being hit are education and health care for low income families. Something I would like them to cut back on is their own salaries. Most politicians make good money, some even make over six figures.

Education is very important its is essential for the country. Sadly as time goes by more and more programs are being cut. Teachers are getting laid off which ends up with more crowded classes. More crowded classes means more students in a classroom per teacher which makes it harder to learn because students aren’t getting the needed attention from their teachers. Supplies are being limited. This means that most teachers are having to buy their own supplies for their classes because there is not enough money to buy what is needed in the classroom for their students to learn appropriately. Art and music programs are being cut in schools, so with those programs being cut students are missing out on the learning experiences and creativity. These budget cuts have also affected community colleges and some universities and has affected financial aid for students. This means that because less students are receiving financial aid; therefore less students are going to college. A lot of students depend on financial aid to get them thru college and with these programs being cuts students are stuck and have been forced to drop out. The government says that our children our the future. The government wants students to go on to college and to succeed, but they are making harder to do so. Education should not be cut, it should be the last resort.

Health care for low income families and senior citizens have been cut. This is crucial because now they cant even go to the doctor for a check up because they can’t afford it specially those people have chronically or terminal illnesses which can’t afford their medicine. Leaving them with no option b to wait and see if they will live another day. With out health care people are more vulnerable to illnesses and diseases because they will never know what going on inside of their bodies.

The state government is trying to figure out what programs to cut in order to save some money. They are cutting programs that are much needed which is very wrong. However they haven’t mentioned cutting their own jobs or salaries. Most of these big politicians have cozy salaries some making over six figures a year. We all know the saying “grab the bull by its horns.” they need to cut their own salaries and freeze raises and bonuses because their paychecks are paid by our tax money. They should not be living in luxury when state is in a financial crisis. These guys are getting rid of the low paying jobs which have minimal effect unless they are a lot of jobs being lost; which is what we are seeing. It will be much simpler if they cut their own salary by a reasonable amount. Freeze their bonus. If they did this they will save so many programs and jobs.

These are very difficult times and probably more still to come, but we need to make the appropriate cuts. Not just because education uses a lot of money means that this is where we need to make the cuts. Education is essential for growth, so its healthcare. With out healthcare for low income families and the elderly their lives become that much harder. Those politicians who are making these decisions need to take a salary cut and freeze their bonuses because this will save more jobs and programs that benefit everybody. Once the appropriate cuts are being made slowly we will start to see everything improving.