Reader comments
Budget cuts done — at least for now

Why dont we get rid of the lazy people in office who are making too much and not even lifting a finger or get down right dirty........ instead of cutting cost of highwaypatrol or medicaid or even schools there plenty too go around?? what we paying taxes for........

Phil Riesen, D-Holladay has it all wrong. We can not borrow our way out of the problem.This attitude of bonding and spending money we do not have is the problem at the federal leval. No one in their right mind would want to mock that situation. Cuts hurt sometimes but they are needed.

Candice is my favorite!

Thank you for not cutting any budgets in public education. That is a huge relief for our kids.

Of course they will hold public education harmless -- it's an election year!

There is so much waste in government. I get so mad when I'm golfing in the middle of the day with a government worker who is using a sick day, or have so many accrued they have to use them. As a self employed person I pay $1000 per month for health insurance why do I have to pay for gov. workers benefits. They all brag about how little they have to do. And they are living for their retirement. Cut the bennies believe me they won't bail. I've hired a few who want to make more money and they don't last in the private sector, Where there is accountability and 10 minutes breaks.

As a good EVANGELICAL CONSERVATIVE CHRISTIAN REPUBLICAN, I say cut the education budget. Cutting the education budget will save money as well as cost all those union teachers their jobs. Hire the non-union teachers back with half the salary and no benefits. There is no reason to pay benefits to people who only work barely 9 months per year. I know this won't take care of the whole problem but it will be a good start.

The also held themselves harmless.

Get you head out of the sand or where ever it is buried, Phil. Roads are just as much about people, if not more. Us working folks who pay the taxes also have to pay for gas when stuck on the freeways. I bet Phil didn't even have an alternative proposal for the legislature. He probably did the classic democratic approach -- go whine to the media but bring nothing productive to the debate.

Public education was held harmless last budget downturn (2002) also.

The Legislature's budget took the same size cut as everyone elses not to mention they cut their pay.

Did you really say not cutting education was "a huge relief to our children?" OH my..I am so sure The average third grader was really worried...What you meant to say was "The liberal teacher union us very relieved."

Bonding is not that bad of an idea. The state still holds a 500 million "rainy day fund".

In times like this you need to help people eat, have a shelter over their heads, and get needed medical care.

Ps. 10:2 "wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor."

Is taking an alternate route or spending 5 minutes extra in traffic that big of price to pay?

From trophy homes to fitting the camel through the eye of the needle we will soon learn the metal of our leaders.

It is amazing to read the disdain for teachers on this thread. How do you think your kids will get educated so that can get into the local community college or BYU? Do you think they magically educate themselves? I see my kids' teachers working very hard to teach my children in the local public school, and I really respect what they do to inspire my kids! People squawk that we're losing domestic jobs to better educated, lower-paid foreign workers. Well, if we truly cared about future employment in this country, we'd support our schools to prepare our kids to become creative entrepreneurs to establish local businesses, provide local jobs to our educated work force, and move Utah into the 21st century's high tech industries. Instead, we poo poo our schools and teachers and wonder why our kids can't compete in world markets. Education is the engine of this nation's economy. Without it, Utah will continue to be hobbled by the limited economic opportunities for our children. I'm very pleased that our legislators kept education unharmed in the current budget cuts! Utah now needs to create incentives to bring the best and brightest teachers to serve our kids!

How can we have a short fall when accoring to the news and the state there is a 500 million dollar surplus? Answer me that one.

We can't keep cutting the road budgets and expect any where close to the same service. Wake up government.

Isn't it wonderful when people, who have no clue about what they are talking about, make simple minded comments? They simply show their ignorance. First of all, there is no difference between what "union" teachers and "non union" teachers are paid. Utah is a "right to work" state. Secondly, Utah is already dead last in per pupil funding. Cutting the benefits, which teachers in every other state are given, would drive away the rest of our dedicated teachers and make it impossible to compete with other states in hiring new teachers. Thirdly, most of these "part time" teachers spend many hours at night, on weekends, and during their vacation time preparing lessons and taking classes to improve their teaching skills (at their own expense). Get your facts straight. And, by the way, you should be embarrassed to title yourself a Christian with such unChristian like comments.

The "liberal teacher union", as you label them, is actually made up of thousands of hard working, conservative teachers who donate numerous hours each night and weekend to prepare lessons and grade papers. Without their "liberal union" they would probably be working for free during the day as well.

Hey, Cut the Bennies, at the corporation I work for, there are no separate buckets for Sick Leave and Vacation Leave. Instead, there is just one bucket called "Paid Time Off". Thus, time off earned can be used for any purpose -- no doctors notes needed when you are sick. But there is a maximum cap on how much Paid Time Off you can acrue, so it is common where I work for employees to be forced to take a day off even if they do not want to because otherwise they would be over the maximum.

My understanding is that the system my corporation has is now the norm, so if the business you own still has separate buckets of vacation time and sick leave, perhaps the problem you have retaining employees is due not to the state government being too generous to employees, but your company being too miserly.

Then we should cut all your benefits and pay you half of what you make. Lead by example instead of putting it on someone else. I can tell you're a real "Chirstian" by your disdain for the people who educate the younger generation. I see nothing Christian in anything you wrote. Quit being enamored with yourself and your money. In the end it will be your downfall.