Cut Smart and Plan Long Term

So I read that some firefighters in Texas are having to pay for equipment and even fuel for their trucks because of budget cuts. Yet another example of politicians taking a short view when they cut, and unable, apparently, to see a bigger picture in their fervor now to bring bloated budgets (budgets they bloated) under control.

Now far be it for me to say that no first-responder budgets should be trimmed or that those budgets contain no waste. All budgets need to be carefully analyzed and evaluated and cut where needed. Departments may need to be cut . . . and the bureaucracy that builds and builds at all levels of governments needs to be cut and not allowed to build again. These are leaner times . . . we are, simply, broke and cannot afford to just throw money at every program, idea, pet project, perceived need or even every golden calf nurtured since its inception.

But let’s take extra time before we slash budgets of first responders or front line health and safety personnel.

Remember, these guys in Texas are fighting huge wildfires now. Their lives are risk, unlike some legislator cooling his heels, sipping sarsaparilla and watching his derricks poke through the earth in search of oil.

We may need to budget smarter and think leaner, but let’s remember that at some point old, out-dated equipment and faulty gear will cost someone his or her life. Long-term thinking, not knee-jerk reaction will make budgets that make sense. We need to cut, but let’s cut smart.