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Let Frugality Be Your Guide


The following appeared as a recommendation by a committee planning a ten-year budget for the city of Calatrava.

"The birthrate in our city is declining: in fact, last year's birthrate was only one-half that of five years ago. Thus the number of students enrolled in our public schools will soon decrease dramatically, and we can safely reduce the funds budgeted for education during the next decade. At the same time, we can reduce funding for athletic playing fields and other recreational facilities. As a result, we will have sufficient money to fund city facilities and programs used primarily by adults, since we can expect the adult population of the city to increase."

Write a response in which you discuss what specific evidence is needed to evaluate the argument and explain how the evidence would weaken or strengthen the argument.

The committee’s proposal to deduct funds from the educational sector comes with more than just a few holes. The proposal is based on bold risks and imprudent action towards the youth of Calatrava. Several evidences could help this plan but that cannot be said for certain as the long term implications can rarely be foreseen in such a situation.

First off, there is a certain lack of reference when quoting the statistic of last year’s birthrate depriving it of necessary legitimacy. Yes, the birthrate has been reducing in numerous urban cities and countries around the world. However, the birth rate being half of a few previous years cannot predict the birth rate for the upcoming years. Such an assumption can lead to misunderstanding the population of Calatrava. What if, say, the population is in a state of transition and the youth generation is only growing from the previous generation. Calatrava could experience a sudden rise in population and if at that moment the funds and services are not available there may be a deficiency in the educational sector. It is safe to say that past year’s data cannot reinforce the assumption that the youth population will decline only because of low birthrates without consulting with the general population of the city and understanding the exact family planning that the citizens are aiming for.



The next victim of the plan by the committee seems to be the public schools. Reduction in birthrates wouldn’t necessarily result in lesser public school admits, after all public school facilities aren’t available to everyone and many prefer to attend private schools, those who can afford it of course. Reducing public school funds could result in lesser admits regardless of the population and birthrates and the youth population that public schools generally support would be incapable of receiving such aid. For all we know, even if the lower birthrates results in lower youth population, the public school admits and yearly intake wouldn’t change at all. Again, predictions based on loose facts from 5 years ago can hardly support 10 years worth of decisions on something as integral as the schooling facility of a city. The athletics and recreational divisions will also be targetted, which would deprive many students from even the opportunity to participate and train in their desired fields. Missing out on a prodigy in the next few years is a loss no one would tangibly experience either.



Finally, it is least elaborated as to what adult programs and city facilities the funding is being intended to be diverted towards. In a pessimistic stretch, one could assume foul play and venality being the cause of such a proposal. But even so, unless the funds can make some real contributions and help the community in any meaningful way, it is less plausible that even the general population would be on board with risking their posterity’s future for a few unsolicited comforts.



A suggestion that would make more sense would be to transfer any surplus or unobserved funds to all the adult facilities that require mending and upgradations. If the prediction turns out to be true, the committee can proclaim accuracy in their calculations and make use of the funds without compromising on the futures of a deprived population. It is necessary to understand that if this proposal passes with insufficient evidence that it could have compounding negative effects for the upcoming years. Ones which can be observed by an older audience still but that which the students themselves would never be able to tell apart. It would set a standard for how we build our educational institutions and on how we maintain them.



Time: 30 mins


Word count: 606
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