Apparently, Washington is in a state of self-inflicted disquietude regarding something called Sequestration or the agreed upon plan to implement onerous cuts in the Federal budget which, according to some Senators and Representatives alike, will result in a financial collapse which will make the Mayan Apocalypse of 2012 pale in comparison. Should Sequestration happen, as it surely will, the President has asserted that we’ll have to furlough those kind souls working at the Pentagon, suffer long lines at the airport, see our children go hungry, lay off police and firemen; and, close government offices throughout this fruited plain.
None of those warnings have any substance, however. Nonetheless, there is profound, irrational dissonance in Congress - primarily caused by politics and ideology.
Sequestration (sounds like castration) merely means that the Federal government’s growth in spending shall be slowed by 2.4%, but will be allowed to continue rising into Grecism-like proportions. Sequestration doesn’t call for cuts in budget – as the main-stream media harp. If Congress and the President could only get over themselves, this whole mess could go away, i.e., there are a few, quick things which can be done:
- Take a vote to stop Sequestration (back in 2011, Obama vowed he’d veto such a move)
- Allow Sequestration and vote to allow the “transfer” of dollars from less critical budget “buckets” to those deemed more important, e.g., from the procurement bucket to the payroll bucket in the Pentagon (either vote can be taken and passed literally in a day).
- Let Sequestration happen (stop the whining and get over it).
- Reduce spending (of course we can’t do that – children will go hungry and schools will have to close)
Sequestration means that the Government would have $85B overall less to spend this year than budgeted, i.e., $3.4T. Remember: one thousand Billion dollars is one Trillion dollars. $85B is a drop in the bucket; and, does virtually nothing toward reducing the deficit or the inexorable growth of that deficit.
Millions of hard working Americans have found solutions to their own escalating expenses – they cut back. Unfortunately, the Federal Government’s solution to escalating expenses is to print more money; and, spend more of it.
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