Now that the election is over and there’s no need for anyone to care about what voters in the UW community think, Gov. Chris Gregoire has proposed to cut UW funding by “$116 million for the biennium.” That is on top of the “4.25 percent reduction we have just taken this year,” according to President Mark Emmert’s latest e-mail on the subject.

True, it’s possible that a Gov. Rossi might have tightened the purse strings on higher education as well. But Gregoire’s move still amounts to a reality check for those voters who cast ballots for her thinking she would insulate the UW from the fallout of her earlier budgetary incompetence. Those of us who voted for Rossi were more likely thinking about the jobs we needed upon graduation.

Nevertheless, the UW is one of the most effective users of taxpayer dollars because it provides a high-quality education to tens of thousands of Washington students who will play a decisive role in the future of the state economy. Maintaining funding for the state’s public universities, particularly the UW, is important to protect our regional economic health.

Emmert is right in arguing that “reducing state support this much at a time when more people are looking to higher education to help lift us out the economic downward spiral may be pennywise but pound foolish.”

Slashing the UW’s budget would, in the president’s words, “seriously harm the university and impede our ability to serve the higher education needs of our state’s citizens,” i.e. reduce the quality of a UW degree.

Many forms of government spending, no matter how well-intentioned, are just that — spending money that should be in our pockets for things government has no business doing. Spending on the UW, on the other hand, is an investment; far more so than the K-12 system, given the far greater competence of the UW’s leadership in spending the funds in a way that benefits students.

Far from fixing the state budget problem, Gregoire’s proposal only applies a light dusting off of the clutter she has created: State spending has increased by $8 billion during her tenure, and the state payroll has risen by thousands of employees.

Once a government employee is hired, of course, he or she can’t be fired. The costs of Gregoire’s spending spree will be with us for a long time. Now she’s asking the UW — one of the most, if not the most, worthy recipient of taxpayer dollars in the state budget — to sacrifice to compensate for her profligacy elsewhere. UW administrators warn that tuition and fees may have to help close the gap — meaning more money out of our pockets, thanks to Gregoire. Is that the governor you voted for?

Reach columnist Russ Wung at opinion@dailyuw.com.