Ryan Benjamin | A tough lesson in economics

It was Joni Mitchell and later Counting Crows who sang, "You don't know what you got till it's gone."

That couldn't be truer now as we enter the season of state-budget addresses. This year, in these economic times, a lot of people are understandably upset as jobs are lost and programs are cut. Here in Pennsylvania, one such program is the Pennsylvania Governor's Schools of Excellence, a prestigious and entirely free five-week summer residential program for the state's most talented students.

College sophomore Adam Shore, one of many Penn students and alumni who attended PGSE, called it the most rewarding thing he did during high school. "It puts together like-minded students who have the drive to study, forming the best friendships you'll ever have, all while learning important things that will guide your future career," he said. Approximately half his class at the Science Governor's School now attends an Ivy League university.

Naturally, he and other alumni are angry that Governor Edward Rendell is axing the program. But according to Rendell, "We simply have no choice. The crisis demands that we make these cuts."

That doesn't mean Rendell is ignoring education all together. Even in these economic times, he actually proposes increasing the budget by 2.5 percent, anticipating revenues from both the federal stimulus package as well as legalized video poker. Though he cuts most areas of the budget by 8.8 percent (along with 2,600 jobs), education spending skyrockets, providing $550 million in tuition assistance to Pennsylvania residents who attend community college and public universities (now wouldn't it be nice to be confused with Penn State?).

Still, alumni of the program have mobilized by creating a Facebook group. One of Shore's professors at Governor's School sent out an e-mail asking alumni to write to Rendell explaining why canceling PGSE is a bad thing. Shore did just that, detailing what his experience has meant to his life.

We heard an awful lot about community organizers this campaign, not only because Barack Obama started his professional life as one, but also because the Republican vice-presidential candidate, Governor Sarah Palin, said her work as mayor of a 9,000-person Alaska city required "actual responsibilities" compared to Obama's duties.

One might surmise that many community and political organizers (and lobbyists too!) would fight Rendell's budget cuts, including PGSE; that's their job. But at what point do we say, "enough is enough," and let the overall health of the Commonwealth come first? Not often enough.

Some might remember that in 2006 the Congressional Page Program was under a cloud of suspicion after revelations that a congressman, Mark Foley, had been communicating inappropriately with several 16-year-old pages. He immediately resigned, but the media had a field day, and several congressmen proceeded to call for the program's termination.

I was a page in the summer of 2004, and I enjoyed my time there. However, I didn't have the same visceral reaction as some of my peers when the program's existence was threatened. The process was engaging, fun and memorable, but would the nation be worse off if the program were eliminated? No. But the program's been around since 1827, and proud alumni want it to be there for future generations. The same concept applies, I would say, to Governor's School.

Even Shore said he's in total agreement with Rendell's plan to spend hundreds of millions on tuition assistance. But he also pointed out that the $3.2 million it costs to run PGSE is but a fraction of $550 million and that the state should make every effort to find the money to run it.

Granted, Governor's School provides no better preparation when the United States is competing with China and other countries for highly skilled workers. But I'm not convinced that this program, and hundreds of others cut across the nation this year, are worth saving right now. In context, only 752 of the state's approximately one million high-school students get to experience Governor's School every year, while many more will be helped by Rendell's tuition-assistance proposal.

Rendell says PGSE will come back as the economy gets healthier, and I hope it does. But while it's important to champion an admirable cause, we must realize that our priorities are not everybody's.

Ryan Benjamin is a College senior from New Haven, Conn. A Connecticut Yankee appears on Fridays. His email address is benjamin@dailypennsylvanian.com.

*An earlier version of this column incorrectly stated Coldplay covered Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi." In fact, the Counting Crows covered it. The quoted lyrics in the original version were also incorrect, and have been corrected. The lyrics originally read "you don't know what you have till it's gone."

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