State budget cuts painful, but must be endured

The concept holds true for individuals, households, businesses and even governments: When revenue declines, there must be a corresponding decline in spending. Otherwise, potentially stifling and long-term loads of debt are incurred.

Of course, governments have an awfully hard time swallowing that truth. Witness our federal government’s record deficit; no further proof needs to be provided. When a governmental body does act responsibly — or at least legally, as the Missouri constitution dictates that the state budget must be balanced — a lot of entities that rely on taxpayer dollars to function feel the pain of allocation cutbacks.

As reported today by The Democrat’s Dennis Rich, Missouri lawmakers are making difficult decisions concerning how the reduced pool of state money will be doled out. Like many entities across Missouri, local and regional social service agencies face the likelihood of operating in 2010 and beyond with significantly less state money. And as Rich pointed out, few lawmakers in Jefferson City believe the $60 million in social service cuts will be reinstated in the final version of the budget.

District 118 Rep. Stanley Cox, R-Sedalia, said, “The bottom line is if you never cut anything, you never get a balanced budget.” As we noted at the top, that applies to everyone — including social service agencies. That is not an indictment of the fine work most if not all of these agencies provide, but our economic reality mandates that everyone either cut back on expenses or find new streams of revenue to make up for the shortfall.

Individuals who believe in the mission of these agencies can make financial contributions or, where appropriate, volunteer to help the agency maintain its level of service in the face of budget reductions. This could be a positive move in the longer term; agencies may be able to generate more reliable sources of income and assistance than the annual reliance on the whims of state lawmakers.

Kathy Kay, executive director of Survival Adult Abuse Center in Warrensburg, told Rich: “We are going to see what actually happens before we start panicking. ... I am sure everyone else feels the same way and feels their program shouldn’t be cut.”

Budget cuts are not easy on anyone, but until state tax revenue rebounds, they are our reality.

American inventor Thomas Edison said: “Keep on the lookout for novel ideas that others have used successfully. Your idea has to be original only in its adaptation to the problem you’re working on.”

That is good advice for all of us as we deal with the lagging economy.