Protesting the budget cuts on higher education is not an act of immaturity, selfishness, or disillusionment. It is an act of concern that extends far beyond students. We are not attacking the jobs created by the Farmerville chicken plant. That is part of the state's economic development and recovery- we get that.
But it is an illustration of how the government of Louisiana is constantly putting education on the back burner. When will they realize that education builds the foundation for success? A strong educational system will result in a strong state. Our neighbor (and certainly most other states in the U.S.) have learned this.
But we have the largest brain drain problem in the nation. The 1,300 jobs created in Farmerville is great. But it is not a long term investment in the future of our state. We need to do more than that- more than 1,300 jobs. And supporting higher education is the way to do that. We need to stop giving people reasons to LEAVE Louisiana and stop making ourselves less and less attractive for people to COME to Louisiana.
The 1,300 jobs (which I would kind of expect more jobs to be saved for the price tag of $50 million) is a necessary step to help Louisiana recover. But not at the expense of education. This is just ONE of many illustrations of how skewed the government's priorities are today (and have been for far too long). PUT EDUCATION FIRST- for once.
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