Cut to the Bone, My Butt

(Chuck Muth) – According to a report by Emily Richmond in the Las Vegas Sun on Tuesday, “UNLV is spending about $500,000 on raises and new positions for non-teaching administrators.”

Raises? New positions? Non-teaching? I thought the government was in deep financial doo-doo thanks to the lousy economy? I thought the government was furloughing state workers to save money? I thought there wasn’t a dime to spare; that we’d cut the budget to the very bone?

One of the explanations, while logical, is nevertheless, cause for anger: “If you eliminate two positions that had cost $100,000, and give someone a $20,000 bump to do the work, that’s considered to be fiscal responsibility,” said Professor John Filler, chairman of the Faculty Senate.

Well, I guess that’s one way to look at it. Here’s another:

For years now, despite all the wailing and whining about how there’s “nothing left to cut” in the university system budget, UNLV has been paying…er, correct that….taxpayers have been paying two people to do a job that only required one. That’s called, um, fiscal IRRESPONSIBILITY.

Again, there’s no way UNLV, the university system, or any department of government will EVER shrink its budget or operation unless it is FORCED to. When you take the option of raising taxes off the table, these government operations and bureaucrats WILL find a way to do more with less…just like Nevada’s small businesses and working families who are facing the same kinds of budget challenges.

Read our lips: No…New…Taxes!