Re "S.C. agencies told to sit on money," Aug. 21:

The state Budget and Control Board told state agencies to set aside 1 percent of their budgets as a way of covering lower-than-expected state revenues and a $22 million deficit left from the fiscal year that ended June 30. A few of the agencies that took the largest cuts are the Education Department, with a $17.6 million cut; Disabilities and Special Needs, at $1.4 million; and the Department of Social Services, at $888,398. It appears to me these budget cuts are coming out of the most important state divisions.

There are so many other ways to make a dent in our budget crisis without affecting the health and education of our children. If you stop by your local politician's office, you are bound to find a few too many people standing beside the water cooler and collecting high salaries. We need to look into salary reductions for people who are not earning their keep. We need to look into combining state agencies and staff and become more multifunctional as a government.

If you are a person who makes $32,000 a year for stapling government documents and drinking coffee all day, you are taking advantage of our free system.

We need everyone's opinion and assistance to pull us out of this endless pit of debt. Maybe I need to develop a budget for the state that won't take away funding for the sick, elderly or uneducated. I guarantee my cuts and thriftiness would come from other sources.

Gov. [Mark] Sanford, if you want to give an insider an opportunity to address these issues, feel free to contact me when you need some help.