Cutting the budget to the education system will do more harm than good Essay

Cutting the budget to the education system will do more harm than good - Essay Example The recent case of the state of California grants insight into the immediate impact of budget cuts on education systems. As of 2009 the California government had enacted budget cuts of about 12 billion, with an additional 1.2 billion proposed (O’Connell). This has led to â€Å"class-size increases in Pasadena† and â€Å"the expected laying off of 2250 teachers,† both linked to lower graduation rates (O’Connell). The consequences, however, reach farther than immediate effects on classroom quality and graduation. Lower education rates seem to lead to lower economic performance. According to Business Weekly, even at current rates decreases in educational performance could lead to a cut of as much as 2% of GDP due to changes in demographics and expected graduation rates (Symonds). With the growth of global markets and the precedence placed on economic performance in the burgeoning economic powerhouses of India and China, for instance, the United States must wo rk harder to compete. Symonds warns of the possibility of â€Å"more US white collar jobs [moving] offshore† as high school graduation rates in the US’ competitors increase. We cannot neglect the other side of the budget cuts.