O'Bannon blew it with education

Next year, IU students will once again face a tuition increase. It's easy to get caught up in finger-pointing about who is to blame for such increases. But this year, no such confusion is necessary. The fault lies in the lap of the Indiana General Assembly and Gov. Frank O'Bannon.\nAmid all of the confusion of this year's General Assembly session and the competing plans to handle Indiana's budget deficit, many people have overlooked the fiscal mismanagement that caused, at least in part, our troubles. As recently as a few years ago, state leaders touted Indiana's huge budget surplus. But did they save this surplus? Certainly they did save some of it (that's the politically popular thing to do, after all), but in an even smarter political move, they used a large amount of the state's money on local projects deemed wasteful by many. \nThousands upon thousands of dollars were spent through the Build Indiana fund on exclusively local projects such as fire department renovations, cultural events and community projects. Some of these appropriations were no-doubt beneficial. But should the citizens of Indiana be spending, for example, $125,000 on a Boys and Girls Club in Jefferson County? I have no doubt spending this money (totaling more than $78 million) will lead to the betterment of local communities, but these projects are local and should be, for the most part, funded by local entities. \nCompound this with the fact that the country was already in questionable economic times when these millions of dollars in Build Indiana fund appropriations were made, and two words come to my mind: fiscal irresponsibility.\nBut the haphazard spending is not the only cause for Indiana's economic woes. There is a phobia of taxes in this conservative-leaning state. Taxes are treated as taboo: They're some evil government tool for stealing your money. When the governor attempted to increase cigarette taxes and admissions fees to casinos, his plan was stalled. Once again, political wrangling and finger-pointing ensured that Indiana's deficit survived and that programs, such as education, would be marginalized. Does it sound rather childish to you, too?\nAll of this political and economic mismanagement, unfortunately, adds up. It adds up to higher tuition for us and the elimination of many other programs around the state. Not only are IU students affected, but many Hoosiers will lose jobs or services they rely on. For instance, O'Bannon was forced to close three state police stations, which won't help the job market. In Bloomington many IU employees are likely facing unemployment with the budget cuts. What's more and more startling is the announcement that the Evansville Psychiatric Children's Center will be closed, hurting the state's ability to provide vital services to children.\n In addition to these cuts around the state, very disturbing cuts in higher education had to be made. When the cost for citizens of the state to get an education is going up rather than down, there is a problem. Indiana is not a state characterized by great wealth, and many of her residents can't afford increased college costs. There are many future and current students who will be affected by the government's lack of funding for higher education. Hopefully some day higher education will be free for all Hoosiers attending state institutions, but, sadly, that day is not today.