Is cutting higher education the answer for reducing budget deficit in Nevada?

I don’t consider myself as either republican or democrat, but I believe that government should not raise taxes about a certain threshold. I know that times are tough, and government deficit is flying over the roof. Thus, every State in the USA has to cut their spending in one form or another (no doubt about that). But my question to my readers is – Can we create a sustainable society in any country/state/region by cutting spending in Education? For example: Brian Sandoval’s new budget proposal proposes to cut more than 25% of spending in the higher education sector of Nevada.

You don’t need to be an expert to realize that cutting education will impact heavily on Nevada’s economy. Nevada is one of the unfortunate State in the USA, where high school graduation rate is below 60%. Over this, if Mr. Sandoval cut higher education spending, then Nevada will be left with unskilled labor force resulting even higher unemployment. I can understand the intention behind Mr. Sandoval’s budget cut plan. In theory, you can attract more businesses to a particular State/region by reducing taxes. But sometimes those theoretical approaches don’t work in real life. Let’s say, this budget cut will help us solving the short-term budget deficit of Nevada. And Nevada will be successful in attracting new businesses by providing tax cuts. But what will happen when they come to Nevada? Where will they get their workforce from?

History shows that the education had played an important role in the growth of economies, regions and even countries. India wouldn’t have capitalized on ‘Y2K’ and ‘dot com’ boom, if it didn’t have highly skilled labor force. There might not be any direct relationship between education and growth of the economies, but I am sure that they are highly correlated. Without appropriate education, we can’t expect our future generation to deal with difficult times like these.

In summary, I agree that Nevada needs to cut its spending to reduce budget deficit. And unfortunately, part of it has to come from higher education. But if these cuts are not implemented properly then Nevada will be left with even higher unemployment and no future perspectives.

So, what do you think? Do you agree with Mr. Sandoval's plan for budget cuts? Please feel free to share your opinion. I am always looking for your feedback. Thanks. – Bhavin Gandhi