Budgeting Issue

Introduction

The main idea of the article by Glowicki (2017) is that the role that Kentucky governor Bevin was facing as he tried to get the state budget under control is a lose-lose role. His point is that Kentucky cannot afford to cut its justice system budget anymore as cuts have already been made so many times in the past. It is completely on topic and to the point.

The reasons I chose to analyze this article are, first, that in 2017 Kentucky state governor Matt Bevin was faced with the task of reducing the state budget. He looked to make cuts throughout the criminal justice system. Many people were upset with his choices and as a result, he was voted out of office in the next election. Understanding why that happened is important both for my state and for me as a criminal justice administration student. Second, I like to understand more about how important budgeting is to both the state and the justice system and how the two should work together to overcome challenges like this one.

Authors Conclusions and Recommendations

Glowicki (2017) concluded that any cuts would affect assistant prosecutors, crime victims advocates and other staff, equating to one in three employees at commonwealths attorneys offices, Cohron estimated in September. Yet as Glowicki...

Any further reductions would essentially gut the justice system and make it so that prosecutors can no longer do the jobs they are meant to do. The implication that Glowicki makes is that the governor needs to find some other way to reduce the state budget or increase state revenue. Cutting the budget of the justice system should be a non-starter, as it would mean that attorneys would...…system is to reduce spending in other areas of the state budget. This would free up money that could be redirected to the justice system. But the governor would have to look into other areas where money could be moved. He is likely to run into the same problems.

So then the state could potentially look for ways to increase revenue without raising taxes or making cuts from other areas. For example, the state could implement fees for certain services or activities related to the justice system. It could implement a toll road or bridge or some other measure. The bottom line is the governor cannot take the easy way out by making cuts that hurt. Instead, the governor should find the funding necessary to ensure that their justice systems are effective and efficient. If that funding cannot be obtained, then the governor is going to have to get creative about finding an…