Speech story

State Officials Address Students About Graduating in Times of Economic Stress


An improved business climate may be the key to recovery for the Washington state budget and will provide hope to students entering the job market.

“We need businesses here. We need jobs here,” Representative Joe Schmick said. “We have students with good degrees. They need good jobs!”

Schmick addressed students at Washington State University on Tuesday Dec. 1, along with fellow Senator Mark Schoesler and State Representative Susan Fagan. The event was part of the “Coffee and Politics” series hosted by the Foley Institute.

The officials were invited to speak about how the Washington state budget shortfalls will effect WSU and the City of Pullman.

Students at WSU have already felt the financial strain of the shrinking state budget. Tuition has increased by 14 percent since the university fiscal budget was announced last spring, and will increase by another 14 percent for the 2010 and 2011 school year.

When asked if WSU can expect to see even more tuition increases and department cuts in the future, the officials said that circumstances are uncertain but more cuts are possible.

“Until the economy is turned around, higher education is always at risk,” Schoesler said.

With companies like Boeing opting to leave the state, the annual retail growth in Washington state is low and unemployment is high. The officials all stressed the important of growth in the economy. Schmick said that there will be a natural progression of dollars for education as the business climate improves.

Pullman community members and students also voiced concerns that students graduating from college with thousands of dollars of debt are suffering when entering an already-competitive job market.

“We’re really aware of that impact,” Schmick said, “It’s like, here’s your diploma, and by the way, here’s your mortgage.”

Senior political science major Celena Canode said that it does feel like an inopportune time to enter the working world.

“Some students are opting to go to graduate school just because there are so few jobs out there right now,” Canode said.

Fagan said that she feels it is part of her responsibility to make sure that students have job opportunities upon graduation and that prioritizing state spending is one step in the process of recovery.

“We are spending more money than we have. There is no question about that,” Fagan said.

One method of state fund prioritization that arose multiple times was the idea of re-evaluating the qualifications and expectations for unemployed citizens receiving supplemental income through the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) in order to conserve state funds.

Chloe Beardsley, a senior political science major, believes that some people use government unemployment programs as a crutch.

“There is probably a lot of money that could be conserved,” Beardsley said. “I have friends my age on unemployment who use the money just because they’re eligible for it, not because they have to.”

The Washington State Legislature will be looking into reprioritizing spending across the board this year in order to make it through tough times.

“I don’t think you’ll see many stones left unturned at the end of this year,” Schmick said.


Sources:
Celena Canode
celenacandoe@gmail.com
Chloe Beardsley
cbeardsley239@yahoo.com
Speakers:
Senator Mark Schoesler - (360) 786-7620
Representative Joe Schmick – (360) 786-7844
Representative Susan Fagan - (360) 786-7942

3 Questions:
1) Do you feel students are well-informed about politics on a local or national level
2) Do you feel students have a voice in local politics?
3) Do you feel that high education is a priority for taxpayers in Washington state? Should it be?