As we have trouble funding the present, it only follows we cannot afford the past.

People are being cut off Basic Health and THIS is what Crosscut is putting up front?

Yes, ivan, the new media's agenda is a bit out of step with the times. The refugees from defunct "news" organizations still... don't... get... it. They should go into advertising. Or are they, already?

I think people generally understand that shutting down Basic Health to save money is a false economy, since preventative care is a lot more cost-effective than emergency care. No Basic Health may save the state money in the short run, but ER visits are expensive, and we'll end up paying for those one way or another, whether it's through higher premiums, higher fees, or, for the public hospitals, higher taxes (because no one is going to shut down Harborview or the UW Medical Center).

The value of history and heritage, on the other hand, unfortunately still needs explaining.

@ Benjamin. Well, then the state should get out of the emergency room care business.

If preventative care is so much more effective, we should predicate welfare payments on body weight. If you don't take care of yourself, we're not going to try to, either.

But just think how much we will be saving on soda and Twinkies.....

And of course everyone on "welfare" or Basic Health Care or unemployment is a fat, lazy, slob who never ever wants to work.....

Regardless of the health care issue...which seems to be dominating the discussion and is certainly a serious problem, BlueLight misses the whole point of preservation. It isn't to "fund the past" if done appropriately. One of the main purposes of preservation is to make older buildings useful for the future. Good preservation is not museology of pretty buildings (aka restoration)except in very few and unique circumstances. Preservation is rehabilitation...with numerous benefits: 1) an existing building with historical meaning upgraded for future use rather than torn down or left to rot; 2) a logical "green" approach to useful facilities (it costs more in terms of energy, carbon emissions, landfill fees, etc.) to tear something useful down to build something new; and 3) economic (including tourism) and cultural good sense. We may now throw away "defunct" household items, but that is more because no one knows how to repair anything anymore (and unfortunately, the economics don't encourage such). Maybe, as cost cutting, each and every one of us should learnt again to "fix" things. That's all preservation is.

No I get it, wevz2001. But if my commuter car needs new tires, I shouldn't be buying a new set of headers for the hotrod I'm restoring in the garage.

BlueLight - I think the analogy is a tad off (although not entirely on a case by case basis). In many cases, the funding is, in fact, for tires; and without them, nothing is going anywhere...other than sitting out, useless, and "rusting." Having sat on funding committees, I've seen (and battled) the difference between frills and necessities. And, yes, there are some of both that get through. A number of the worthy projects are more like a '36 Ford sitting out in a farm field. Without someone to care for them, they will be soon gone; but they still have the opportunity for useful future use (along with nostalgia)...if just some caring soul steps up to the plate. Would that some more charitable private entrepreneurs could step up...but that is few and far between (same goes to all of the "social services" aspects of these days...in spite of Gates and Buffet).

Unfortuntately, when hacking at a budget, there seems no time (or will) to prioritize. Just take action, for good or bad.

If you extend -weevz2001's logic to the AW viaduct Seattle could save 2+ BILLION dollars and avoid compromising the transportation integrity of the entire city. The same could be said of the "DisneyLand" design for I-520 with extra BILLIONS for beautification giveaways to the Montlake neighborhood. Leaving Mercer Street alone instead of reducing its capacity, would've saved another 200 million.

Really adds up, huh? And the amazing thing is that we wind up with less than what we started with.

Gee.

Some historic preservation comes at the expense of present day needs (the point of my analogy, weevz2001). Take your '36 Ford in a farm field. Although society may need that field to produce food, some preservation group will have it "preserved" out of deference for the jalopy sitting in it. It is that kind of subjugation (the present to the past) to which I object.

So lets tear down all "historic" buildings and let modern business have them for free, or low cost.. Fortunately the space needle is privately owned, but the rest of our history.. tear it down, it's not that old anyway.

I love big box stores so I hope more are built on those sites.

and Freeways! Lets build more of those!.. who cares about old buildings anyway...

sheesh. If we don't even try to remember our history, we for sure will repeat it.

The Seattle Times is delighted with budget cuts because museums "are nice but not necessary."

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorials/2013732836_edit22gregoirebudget.html

I think Bluelight might have missed the point and the irony in the article. The Heritage Capital grants would have leveraged private funds at a 2:1 ratio and put a lot of people to work. There is no restoration fairy..working carpenters, masons, painters, woodworkers etc. all benefit from the employment that these grants bring. For smaller communities they function as a local economic development initiative. The irony in the article that was missed, was the proposal to demolish a historic building at a cost of $6 million. Even a cut to the proposed $10 million in grants down to 6 mil would have created many jobs. Instead $6 million will be used to tear down a perfectly good building and leave a gaping hole in the middle of Olympia. Where is the sense in that?

Maybe NOW we can get a bill like SB 6051 passed.

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=6051&year;=2009

Most people DO understand that cutting Basic Health is a false economy, but it's going to happen anyway, so understanding isn't the issue. The Governor's budget is composed of a bunch of major cuts and a bunch of minor cuts. Without those minor cuts, more major cuts would be necessary. Buried in the article is the fact that an organization would have to raise $2 for every $1 in state money; who could do that in this economy? If you'd give $2 to help a "heritage" project instead of $2 to a food bank, I'd seriously question your humanity.

@Sarah90 - It is a false economy...but then so is a government that takes away money that puts people to work. Yes, food banks are needed. But if we get people painting, plastering, plumbing etc. then they have a j-o-b. If they are earning a living then they won't need the food bank and hopefully can get some health insurance or afford a community clinic. Government can't only be a social service agency. Washington State government survives on sales tax. Without people working then revenue continues to decline and the less and less social services it can administer. Its a balancing act. You can't feed the hungry unless you have the revenue stream to do it. We need to get people back to working again!! Plus heritage projects offer a training ground for skills that people can use other places.

Leah, if every state promise to "put people to work" came true, we wouldn't have the unemployment that we do. There's no restoration fairy? There's also no "leveraging private funds" to "put people to work" fairy.

This is sad news because deferred repairs become much more expensive repairs at a later date and some things go past the point of fixing.

Also given the slump in the construction sector, renovation and remodeling provide vital jobs to a particularly hard hit sector.

I'm grateful that Knute does such a good job keeping a strong spotlight on this issue - hopefully, preservation advocates can have some of these cuts undone when the legislative comes back in January for some more chop-suey.

Yes... If we break up more Schooner Wawonas... raze more country churches...Bulldoze downtown theaters for parking lots... We will reduce the burden, at least symbolically, on taxpayers...

Washington state have never really "got it" when it comes to its heritage.

Tea Party away!

---Steve Lindsey
Keene, NH