State budget cuts: Watch the politics closely

The Union Leader tops its editorial page by arguing that partisan politics has shifted Democratic attitudes on budget cuts in Concord:

Among the proposed savings: cutting Medicaid reimbursements to local hospitals by $1 million, reducing AIDS prevention funding by $500,000, taking $2 million back from the Police Standards and Training Council, reducing highway fund transfers by $5 million, and spending $441,000 less on state courts.

The House Finance Committee unanimously supported this bill, and Democratic House leaders support it. It is interesting how partisan politics plays such a big role in these decisions. When Republicans proposed the exact same Medicaid savings, Democrats opposed it. But legislative Democrats need to support Gov. Lynch to show that the party is serious about controlling spending.