Nancy Folbre, UMass Amherst economics professor, was recently quoted in a BusinessWeek article about budget cuts to state universities. Folbre is worried because officials in Massachusetts have been offsetting budget shortfalls with federal stimulus funding, money that will disappear next year, possibly leading to rounds of drastic cuts. (Business Week, 2/11/10)
“We’ve already been subject to very disruptive budget cuts before and then gradual recovery, but this one feels apocalyptic,” says Nancy Folbre, author of a new book “Saving State U” and an economics professor at University of Massachusetts. “I’m in a real panic about what will happen next year when the federal stimulus funds are not going to be there to break our fall.”