Legislators let IU down

Indiana legislators adjourned last week without passing spending legislation necessary to keep state government afloat. Instead, Senate Republicans decided against passing any tax increases proposed by Democrats, including Gov. Frank O'Bannon, that would have raised money to prevent drastic cuts to spending on education, among other state services.\n Tax increases sought for cigarettes and gasoline would have generated millions toward an expected $1.3 billion budget shortfall, with the rest coming from cuts in various discretionary areas. But those plans, which the House Democrats had sought, were shot down in the GOP-controlled Senate. Now O'Bannon is forced to make drastic cuts in vital state services, including heavy cuts in higher education for state schools, like IU.\nLegislators let Indiana down by focusing on re-election this year and not on finding a compromise between the Democratic and Republican plans. \nO'Bannon warned legislators for two years that state spending would have to go down if appropriate taxing legislation was not enacted. Monday he began a difficult process of vetoing spending, including around $200,000 in cuts to a planning for a bicentennial celebration of Abraham Lincoln's 1809 birthday and a new textbook about the history of the Indiana legislature. While those two projects are likely not all that important to Indiana's prosperity, cuts yet to be announced in spending on this University will likely harm severely the state's long-term competitiveness among other universities and colleges.\nMany IU students struggle to pay for school with part-time jobs or help from parents. Cuts in state funding lead directly to increases in tuition, putting many students and their families in a financial situation they should not be in.\nState universities help the entire state over the long term by producing educated employees for prospective companies looking for a place to locate their businesses. College is not simply a matter of individuals doing something for themselves, but for the community as a whole. That's why we have state-supported schools. And it's why continued state government investment in this University is vital to Indiana's continued growth and prosperity.\nGovernor O'Bannon will not be at fault for the cuts he makes to IU -- state legislators will be. Not only should O'Bannon call a special session of the legislature, but legislators shouldn't go home from Indianapolis until they can sit down and fix the fiscal problems as they were elected to do. If they can't accomplish a simple balanced budget -- with necessary, small tax increases in some areas -- then voters shouldn't send them back to Indianapolis next year.\nStaff vote: Unanimous