Cutting Cal Grants

By Editorial

In the panic to pull the California state budget out of a $14-billion deficit, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is making at least one terrible mistake: attempting to reduce Cal Grant awards offered to college students.

Decreasing award values by thousands and lessening the number of people eligible for Cal Grants may bring the budget out of the red by baby steps, but the long-term costs of such a decision are much greater than any monetary benefits of the cut.

Politicians believe it is much easier to cut funding to education during a budget crisis because, in many ways, the real consequences of those cuts wont' be evident for years.

Were Schwarzenegger to cut funding for freeway maintenance, for example, people would take notice immediately. However, decreasing funding to education in any way quietly places a ticking time bomb over the state.

With less of an emphasis on supporting the higher education of Californian youth, there will be less of an educated workforce to continue the prosperity of the state years down the road.

The fact of the matter is that cuts need to be made to the state budget, but cutting funding that supports California's students damages the state's most valuable resource.

If Schwarzenegger really wants to make a positive change for California, he should try considering the long-term welfare of the state.