Political Definitions

So its been forever since I blogged, so I thought I would pick up again with something light. I'm going to try and do a series based on political buzzwords. The first up is: Budget Cut

Usage: "My employer cut back my hours, thus I'm forced to make some budget cuts."

Definition: (Noun) - The act of reducing budgeted expenditures

Government's Definition: What occurs when there isn't enough money to fund Public Art, Diversity, Raises for Public Office Holders, Public Health Care, Schools, Roads, and Police Protection.

Commentary: In government's definition of Budget Cut things such as Schools, Roads, and Police Protection are the first items to be considered when trimming the budget. Why? Because these are the items that government knows the public wants most, therefore when trying to extort more money from the tax base, if they cut Schools, they have more leverage in obtaining said funds. No one is going to vote for "Tax increase to fund Diversity" or "We don't have enough money for Public Art".

See, cutting the police budget has all sorts of impications for tax payers - i.e. more criminals on the streets, slower response times, less or no police coverage, etc. And government know it, therefore they will institute programs that directly benefit them, such as pay increases for state workers, knowing that they can cut the budget for police and schools and that the tax payers will find a way to fully fund the important programs.

So remember the next time you read in the newspaper that Government is going to have to make Budget Cuts that what they are really doing is funding what they want at the disservice to you.