Recession shredding Massachusetts budget

December 30, 2:55 PMBoston Young Democrats ExaminerDan McDowell

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Yet again Governor Deval Patrick is going to ask for budget-cutting power from the legislature. He estimates that tax collections will fall another billion dollars short. This time he's taking it a step further than in October; he's asking for the ability to reduce aid to communities across the state. This will have a profound impact on these areas as state aid helps pay for various local programs and necessities.

This next round of cuts will have a profound impact on all Massachusetts communities. Programs will be forced to cut expenditures, and possibly cut retroactively (as state universities had to do this past October). This forces difficult decisions all around, and will likely lead to at least some cuts that will hurt state residents. I can only hope Governor Patrick does not ask for more cuts from state schools, as any further cuts would likely lead to the elimination of majors, hiring freezes, and cuts in faculty and staff that schools simply cannot afford to lose.  I also hope local aid is cut selectively, intelligently, and as little as possible. Communities depend on those funds to pay for necessary programs and personnel, and any cuts will be damaging and hard enough to accommodate.

Hopefully our governor will go through the budget intelligently and look for organizations that have fat they could trim without much damage, rather than pushing for cuts from entities that are already trying to make best use of their funds.

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