Gov. Schwarzenegger spoke at length in his annual State of the State address Tuesday of the extensive and unpleasant budget cuts that Californians will face in the coming months.
While the governor’s hopes to reduce if not eliminate the state’s current $14 billion budget deficit are ambitious, his plans to cut the California budget by 10 percent across the board ““ which he has mentioned on several occasions over the past few months but did not address in Tuesday’s speech ““ will place tremendous financial strain on all of the state’s programs.
Among the programs expected to suffer greatly from the proposed cuts are the state’s institutions of higher education, which will be forced to raise student fees to counteract the strain of the cuts.
This possibility is simply unacceptable. Every time student fees increase, state universities become less accessible. Universities, including UCLA, will likely be forced to cut peripheral programs to keep an even keel, potentially eliminating outreach and student retention programs.
According to a University of California press release from December 2005, UC Berkeley researchers found that for every dollar that the state invests in education there is a net return of $3 to the state in additional net tax revenue.
Clearly, the investment of state funds brings a substantial return ““ a return that could guarantee long-term revenue for the state and aid in the ongoing revival of the state’s economy.
By cutting funding to state colleges and universities, Schwarzenegger is squandering such potential.
While cutting funding to social programs throughout the state is an undesirable occasion, the reality of the governor’s decision lends itself to the protection of state university funding as such institutions have the potential to reconcile such favoritism over time.
To his credit, Schwarzenegger’s plan to preserve $29 million for the revival of 98 California public school districts, including Los Angeles Unified, is a stride in the right direction, recognizing the importance of public education and acting accordingly.
The governor should extend that logic and preserve the funding devoted to higher education as well.
According to UCLA Impact, as of August 2006 UCLA was the 10th-largest employer in Southern California. To cut funding to such a significant contributor to the region’s economy is hardly a wise decision in the name of reducing a catastrophic budget crisis.
Another of Schwarzenegger’s noteworthy plans for the coming year was a plan to implement a universal health care program.
The plan would require all Californians to have health insurance starting in 2010. This is a much needed initiative for the state to take and other states to follow. It is refreshing to see that Schwarzenegger is not afraid of introducing a provocative ballot measure that would help the millions of people who are not able to afford health care.
And limited access to something that should be a fundamental right is just not acceptable in this day.
The measure would be funded by increasing taxes on employers and hospitals as well as almost doubling the state tax on cigarettes. The cigarette sales tax presents a double victory as it may work to deter smokers from purchasing a substance that only further harms them as well as reduce the many thousands of patients who are in need of health care due to a smoking-related disease.