Budget cuts will affect patients

To the editor:

If you run a business and find you need more money to continue doing business, then you raise prices to stay afloat.

When you are running a government, there comes a time you have to raise money to stay in business and you don't start by raising taxes on the lowest income people, while cutting taxes for the most wealthy.

It should be apparent that there are some things government must take care of in order to find the best efficiencies available and often they do a good job of providing what is needed at a very reasonable cost. Unilaterally deciding some necessary functions of government need to be done away with to balance the budget, undercuts the purpose of government.

The latest is the mental health hospitals that are being pared back with no real answers as to how the two remaining operations are going to keep up with the need with less money in the budget and more patients.

Steve Hanken

Cedar Rapids