Coburn has the better argument

Tom Coburn (Point of View, Jan. 28) points out the history of rising annual budget revenues and demonstrates how much government spending waste is available to cover the make-believe shortfalls. While a $200 million shortage is less than 3 percent of a $7 billion budget, Oklahomans have seen far more decline in their own budgets due to constantly rising costs in living expenses and taxes. Burns Hargis (Point of View, Jan. 28) complains of effective budget cuts to higher education due to inflation. When education demands 50 percent of the annual Oklahoma budget, and with health services added increasing the share of the budget to 67 percent, there is not a lot of remaining dollars to go to the other state agencies. Hargis argues for higher taxes to fund public teacher pay raises, while using a 21 percent decrease in higher education funds as a reason — a disingenuous argument at best. Higher education in Oklahoma is a for-profit business industry while public education is an essential government responsibility.

Coburn’s thoughts are in line with every hardworking Oklahoman who must balance ever-rising expenses against non-rising available income. When faced with higher expenses on utilities, fuel and groceries (because of legislators’ love of taxing whatever they can conceive of taxing), citizens have to choose where their money goes to live within their means. Government should have to do the same.

John Powell, Norman