UW, WSU & EWU Facing Deep Funding Cuts

The Washington State House passed a budget Saturday that included cutting $482 Million from higher education institutions including UW, WSU and EWU.  Tuition hikes figure to be 11.5-percent to 13-percent for new and returning 2012 students at Eastern Washington University, Washington State University and University of Washington. Watch the video before reading on.

One Parents Thoughts

Should the wages of elected and appointed government officials be tied to their positions productivity?  As the representatives of these students striving to become productive members of our communities and society, these officials seem quick to pull funding from their educational goals while funding pet projects that benefit those less inclined to contribute to society but do vote in force come Election Day. 

These same people being hurt are the ones responsible for the future of a country, the strength of a nation and the safety of its people. In the future, don’t complain if the country keeps slipping in quality of living, if crime keeps rising, prisons become overburdened and taxes keep going up as more police and courts and detention centers are needed.  Why, what alternatives were these kids given, loans? Where is the community support when intervention was being sought?

Not every family can afford or qualify for loans and not all students have parental backing for school costs either. We continue to build new government offices; deck them out like royalty, fund travel, dinners, parties, phenomenal medical and retirement systems but nothing for the people that are saddled with the bills from these extravagances, why?

Let’s cut spending where it hurts the least, cut government in half, and slash the perks, cut their medical, dental, retirements at the same rate seen in the public sector.  It’s time to take control of our representative and force compliance with issues related to the people they are sworn to represent. Democrats and Republicans alike, they’re all to blame; the two party system needs a nudge as it’s been bounced off the tracks.  There is no easy answer, no quick fix.  But there is a definite path that needs to be followed and it’s through the halls of our schools, colleges and universities.