And so it begins in Kentucky…The famous American political scientist Harold Lasswell famously defined politics as who gets what, when, and how.  What is Governor Bevin getting? When is he getting it? How is he getting it?  We might also add to this why does it have to be in this particularly painful political way?  These answers will play out over the next four years of his term, but for now we know how his unilateral and immediate budget cuts will play out at Morehead State University–broken promises, lost income, and misery as employees lose a week of pay over Spring Break.  But wait…there’s more–two more years of cuts on top of ten years of underfunding from the legislature that won’t be managed with just furloughs.

Morehead State University is a huge contributor to the economy in this largely rural part of the Appalachian foothills in Eastern Kentucky.  Every dollar lost has an ugly multiplier effect with unseen and unbidden consequences. “Belt tightening” is a cliche that doesn’t even begin to describe what will happen if Bevin gets what he wants over the next biennium.

We do know who will be hurt if some combination of counterveiling forces doesn’t rise up.  Can we even hope that the word ‘compromise’ is in Bevin’s vocabulary?  Or will he just say silently to himself, “I’ve got mine. May the devil take the hindmost.”

Source: Morehead State University :: March :: MSU announces unpaid furlough