Plan lacks logic

The governor knows best. As always, Jeb Bush is right. Everything he does is correct.

Refusing to let down his state, the governor has left many businesses wondering how they will survive next year.

The spending plan he proposed could not be farther from excellence. It calls for $111 million in cuts to the state university system, a $51 million cut from juvenile crime prevention programs, and $1 million from the state’s aquaculture industry, among others.

The 11 state universities will be forced to share almost $90 million of the $597 million Public Education Capital Outlay fund. This amount is less than one-third of the money schools are expecting to receive for this year’s building and renovation projects.

Not only is Bush cutting the money given to institutions that educate future world leaders, he is also risking the outlook of the state’s aquaculture industry.

Fifty-one jobs and $4 million will be slashed from a business that brings in roughly $100 million in annual sales. It also provides a large amount of employment opportunities for the state. Of course its funds should be reduced.

Who in their right mind would want to support an industry that brings in so much revenue?

The great and powerful Bush plans to execute all these cuts without implementing any tax increases. However, it will be near impossible to fund these projects without asking taxpayers for more money.

The national government certainly won’t be providing any assistance. Its economy is already in shambles, and the pending war isn’t helping any.

In the meantime, the three other multi-billion dollar amendments passed in November-reducing class size, cross-state bullet training and pre-k programs-will continue as planned.

Gov. Bush must change his thinking. A $54 billion spending plan is certainly not the answer. He should enforce smaller cutbacks as time goes on so the economy will be able to adjust.

Throwing everything into the pot at once will not make for a great stew, just like reducing every budget will not create a stable economy.

Gov. Bush needs to start worrying about the present. He cannot continue to plan for future years because the state needs help now.

Raising tuition 7 percent and eliminating $1 million from vision intervention programs will certainly not solve the state’s problems.

But obviously Jeb Bush has a great master plan for his hoop dreams that we just don’t know about yet.

Dominique Drake for The Famuan.