Budget Cuts hit home

[Armstead]

This is a microcosm of what is about to happen all across the US.

My job is covering local news. In the past week, two totally separate stories had an unfortunate connection.

One was regarding a public radio station that is attempting to set up an auxiliary transmitter to bring its signal to a part of the region that has not been able to receive it because of a barrier of mountains. They have applied for a grant from the U.S, Commerce dept. that provides funds for facilities for public stations.

The other is an ongoing federal grant that a local school district and hospital recently received to improve health and fitness education.

The common denominator? Both of thesefunding programs are slated to be cut from the federal budget. The organizations involved are not certain these funds will exist. The programs are expected to go away either this year or next.

Perhaps neither of these programs is absolutely essential. But both provide important benefits to the community in their own ways.

That's just a tiny local sliver of the tip of an enormous iceburg. Multiply that by all of the other programs that do good in many communities across the country, and one gets a sense of how devastating these budget cuts will be on a macro level....All so that a few millionaires or corporations can get a tax break that will enable them to add to their fleet of private jets or a fifth home.

[pscot]

1. Quality of life