Letter: Columnist has misguided attitude toward the federal budget
Professor Adam Johnson in a recent column gave a defense of the federal money his Weber State department receives and mentioned the names of those that would be impacted were these funds to be cut off. He pointed out how small are the funds they receive in comparison to total budgets.
My question to him is “How else do we reduce our national budget deficit?” That deficit is unsustainable and if not checked is leading us to national disaster. Yet everyone who receives federal funds has a reason why those funds should continue in their area.
I am skeptical. In my long working career I have seen federal funds wasted, both when I was in the military and later when I was employed by a federal contractor. I have seen spending decisions made by those who would not have made those decisions were the funds coming directly out of their own pockets.
Balancing the federal budget may require pain on the part of all of us. This will require budget cuts. We have to get away from an attitude of: “Don’t cut me, don’t cut thee, cut the fellow behind the tree.”
William Bernard
North Ogden