What's Good for the Goose is Good for the Hack
On one hand, hearing Deval Patrick tongue-lash Zoo New England officials for budgetary scare-mongering is welcome. But it's also like hearing Bernard Cardinal Law call out the Unitarians for buggery behind the altar.
Every time anyone proposes a government budget cut we are greeted with cavalcades of caterwauling cassandras gnashing their teeth and rending their garments should even one shiny nickel be removed from next year's plans. In January when it snows more than a few inches, state employees wait like schoolchildren for the governor to call a snow day for "non-essential" personnel. But when it's time to cut paychecks, everyone from the people who license hairstylists to the Bomb Squad is a Number One Priority.
All of this is made more laughable by the fact that "budget cuts" are often not cuts as we mortals understand them, but reductions in the rate of planned increases. It's one thing to wait until the $200 dress goes on sale for $150, it's another to say that you were already planning to buy it at full price and pretend you "made" $50. Having done the same for the past decade, the Commonwealth now finds itself in the same position as individuals, heading towards bankruptcy and in need of real rather than imaginary cuts.
Every time anyone proposes a government budget cut we are greeted with cavalcades of caterwauling cassandras gnashing their teeth and rending their garments should even one shiny nickel be removed from next year's plans. In January when it snows more than a few inches, state employees wait like schoolchildren for the governor to call a snow day for "non-essential" personnel. But when it's time to cut paychecks, everyone from the people who license hairstylists to the Bomb Squad is a Number One Priority.
All of this is made more laughable by the fact that "budget cuts" are often not cuts as we mortals understand them, but reductions in the rate of planned increases. It's one thing to wait until the $200 dress goes on sale for $150, it's another to say that you were already planning to buy it at full price and pretend you "made" $50. Having done the same for the past decade, the Commonwealth now finds itself in the same position as individuals, heading towards bankruptcy and in need of real rather than imaginary cuts.
posted by The Snob at
8:58 AM
1 Comments:
While I agree with you to an extent, it is important to consider that operating costs almost never decrease from year to year, especially for places like zoos. If you fail to increase the previous year's budget at all, it is tantamount to a decrease in funds for the entity in question. Think of it as a cost of living increase...
A simple example: the price of hay has dramatically increased this year in New England due to the overly rainy and cold summer we've had. The zoo still needs the same amount of hay it did last year, but it will cost them more. The planned increase would help to mitigate this expense.
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