President Obama and a bipartisan congress failed to avoid a sequester Friday. Due to their failed compromise, the nation faces deep spending cuts, Reuters reports March 2. The Blue Angels and Thunderbirds will be grounded as a result of the sequestration. Read more about that here.
Obama talked more about the spending cuts Americans will see due to the budget deficit and $16 trillion national debt. Without reaching a deal in Washington Friday, $85 billion in spending cuts loom.
In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama talked about the sequester.
"These cuts are not smart," he said. "They will hurt our economy and cost us jobs. And Congress can turn them off at any time - as soon as both sides are willing to compromise."
Obama explained how the country will feel the pain of the spending cuts.
"Beginning this week, businesses that work with the military will have to lay folks off," the President added. "Communities near military bases will take a serious blow. Hundreds of thousands of Americans who serve their country - Border Patrol agents, FBI agents, civilians who work for the Defense Department - will see their wages cut and their hours reduced."
There's a huge blame game going on between the President and Republicans. Obama said Republicans are balking at closing loopholes which give them extra tax cuts. Republicans believe Obama is using the sequester "debate as an excuse to raise taxes."
Obama warned that the longer the sequester goes on, the more "damage" that will be done.
"The longer these cuts remain in place, the greater the damage," Obama said. "Economists estimate they could eventually cost us more than 750,000 jobs and slow our economy by over one-half of one percent."
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