We have a pair of page one stories this week that draw attention yet again to Wyoming’s financial woes, and the impact the state’s sudden lack of revenue is going to have on governments statewide.
Our front page is hardly unique— this week or any other— as every media outlet in Wyoming has been focused on the economic hardships produced by the state’s energy bust for more than a year. Social media is even more agitated about the situation, especially after it began to sink in that some of President Trump’s proposed federal budget cuts are going to result in additional elimination of funding for some of the services we have long enjoyed here.
Throughout the recently concluded legislative session, stories of the potential impacts of proposed cuts— be they to healthcare, education, local governments, or anything else— were being widely circulated through all mediums, and used to encourage citizens to contact their representatives to urge that funding for this program or that agency be preserved “at all costs.” These urgings were generally supported by warnings of the tragic consequences that would result if that particular entity had its budget trimmed.
Now that the legislative session is over, those pleas are being directed at local elected officials, but we urge citizens to consider one thing before they grab their pitchforks and torches and march off to a budget meeting to demand that funding be preserved for their particular special interest:
There is absolutely no reason that an essential program or service should be eliminated in Wyoming as a result of budget cuts this year, or next, or even the one after that— and anybody who is telling you otherwise is being less than honest.
Wyoming has long been touted as one of the most well-governed states in the country, but that was pretty easy to achieve when coal bonus money was flowing into state coffers. The fact that we enjoyed more than a decade of economic prosperity before this downturn— which has only been going on for a little more than a year— means that governments across this state had every opportunity to shore up infrastructure and reserves when times were good.
They should be more than able to absorb the very necessary cuts they are faced with now without impacting any of the truly essential services we are provided with, but as citizens we are going to have to accept the fact that Wyoming’s recent wealth has been providing us with a level of service that goes well beyond “essential.”
So, by all means, be engaged in the decisions that officials will make in the weeks to come, but don’t fall into the trap of exagerating the impact of cuts that simply have to be made. Citizens may have to tolerate a little inconvenience and do a few more things for themselves, and public sector employees may have to sacrifice some comfort and adapt to new roles, but Wyoming communities will still have everything they need to succeed— and most of what they want.
Public officials, for the most part, understand this and are poised to manage their resources wisely, but it would help a great deal if citizens supported them in doing so instead of wailing in pain every time somebody proposes spending a little less money next year.