Quality of life at risk as state starts to cut the budget

Timothy Taycher, Las Vegas

Thursday, Dec. 9, 2010 | 2:02 a.m.

Living in this state should be more than just about life; it should be about enjoying your life, being productive and having purpose to waking up. Living is about quality of life.

In Nevada, we are faced with the highest unemployment in a generation, a record number of foreclosures, and a rising cost of living without a similar rise in pay. So now is not the time to set fire to the remaining safety net that keeps our friends and neighbors from devastation.

We are faced with proposed budget cuts that would reduce bed capacity at mental health facilities throughout the state, reduce funding for drug courts, increase caseload growth per state worker (spreading thin our remaining resources), and reduce energy assistance programs for those struggling to make ends meet. The list of proposed ugly cuts goes on.

These are vital programs to Nevada’s citizens and families because in these uncertain times, making a person’s life more uncertain reduces their chance for contributing to our growth.

There is that adage that you must spend money to make money. If we expect our state to grow, diversify economically and prosper, then we must make those choices to save our neighbors now so they can help in that growth.