Iowa legislators attempted to fix the state budget problems Thursday during a special session.

This daylong debate was about which state agencies should have to face Gov. Tom Vilsack’s recommended 4.3 percent across-the-board cut.

Iowa State’s extension service, sustainable agriculture center and livestock disease facility were some on-campus exempts. Other state priorities included the state corrections department, local K-12 schools and the Human Service department.

This mid-year budget cut was supposed to cut $209 million from the state budget.

Throughout the long day yesterday, legislators worked to fix a continuous problem for this state.

Vilsack’s proposed cuts have been criticized by legislators as being too drastic and excessive.

But Vilsack has said that the budget needs to balanced and this is the best option. And the legislature is the governmental body which decides what gets cut, not the governor.

During these difficult times, everyone has pointed a finger of blame at the other.

But this special session is not a result of Vilsack’s actions at the end of September, or the summer tax cut.

It’s a result of years of irresponsible actions by past state legislators.

And the current legislators need to figure out a plan that would not only take care of this year’s budget problems, but also prevent such problems in the future.

In the past the state has tried several things to help the budget dilemma. They tried tax breaks.

During the 1990s, the state gave back $800 million in tax breaks.

And those were some good years, but where is that money now? It’s gone and the legislature is looking for those kind of extra dollars.

The idea of dipping into the state emergency funds was also discussed. But this is not a time of emergency.

Plus if the legislators take a little out of this secure fund now, who says they won’t do it again?

The emergency fund needs to be left alone.

Another idea is to cut the middle management of full-time state workers.

Even though Iowa is an average-sized state with an average population, it has 20 percent more state workers than the national average.

Some people think this a place where legislators should be looking to make cuts.

But in these low economic times, is having more unemployed citizens of Iowa an answer to this complex problem?

There are no easy answers.

But Iowa policy-makers need to change their spending habits.

Obviously what has happened this year should not happen again.

editorialboard: Andrea Hauser, Tim Paluch, Michelle Kann, Zach Calef, Omar Tesdell