Oh, that dreaded, awful sequester
With the automatic spending cuts known as the sequester set to kick in Friday (March 1) unless an alternative deal is reached, be ready to hear about all the terrible, horrible, unfathomable effects of cutting … less than 3 percent of all federal spending.
To put things in perspective, economist Dan Mitchell of the Cato Institute (and a double Dawg) prepared this graph from Congressional Budget Office data:
Note that, even after the sequester, spending continues to rise every year — in large part because the sequester doesn’t touch entitlements, which are the fastest-growing part of the budget.
Will there be an effect on some people? Of course: The only way there wouldn’t be is if the feds were simply taking tens of billion dollars a year and lighting them on fire. But as far as a modest measures for beginning to curb runaway spending go — and not even this White House is denying any longer that this country has a spending problem — we will hardly see anything more modest than the sequester. Anyone who says we can’t live with the sequester would probably say the same thing about any spending cuts whatsoever.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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276 comments Add your comment
stevie ray
February 26th, 2013
7:47 am
My favorite bit of hysteria..this one should be etched in WH stone..
The unkindest cut? Energy Secretary Steven Chu has revealed that sequestration would reduce the number of houses being “weatherized” by the feds by “more than a thousand.”
independent thinker
February 26th, 2013
7:53 am
Nothing above explains the House sitting in permanent recess and the stupid partybeing unwilling to pass one dollar of increased revenues. Good news is this may be the only way to cut the defense budget which keeps ballooning along with entitlements. How does that unfunded Medicare drug program the stupid party passed to get the imbecile reelected fit into this graph?
stevie ray
February 26th, 2013
7:59 am
Agree with you 110% on DoD…we could likely shed 20%..
As far as Medicare D, it appears the current imbecile has decided to one up this one…PelosiCare is gonna make D look like a small m pot hole in the highway of waste. The two of them really aren’t very different at all.
All this hysteria for your guy about the sky falling is simply a political manuever to stop sequester at all costs lest he and his sheep look foolish since the cuts aren’t cuts at all and will have a small fraction of impact as suggested..all this talk about teachers, air traffic control and the like is pure unadulterated BS…of course, if BO is certain that horrific outcomes are on the horizon, why doesn’t he simply let the sequester happen to put what my be one of the final nails in GOP coffin?
indigo
February 26th, 2013
8:02 am
Republicans want to cut Govt. spending by reducing Social Security, Medicare and Medicad benefits as much as possible.
Naturally, they want to take from those least able to contribute to Party election and re-election campaigns.
Money = everything
Conscience = none
independent thinker
February 26th, 2013
8:12 am
Stevie Ray – Please explain why your boy McCain is trying to ram a bill through Congress that give the Kenyan Marxist total discretion on budget cuts in lieu of the sequester?And I thought you folks claimed Obama was guilty of treason for cutting $760 million from Medicare and doing away with privatized Medicare Advantage which gave granny free gym memberships and big profits to private insurers which your imbecile passed? Or was that just more lies by those two clowns who got their butts whooped by the Kenyan Marxist??????????????????
Lil' Barry Bailout - OBAMAPHONE!!!
February 26th, 2013
8:28 am
“McCain is trying to ram a bill through Congress”
——————-
The minority party generally doesn’t get to “ram” bills through Congress.
Real intelligent, Depends.
Aesop's Fables and other Lib Economic Theories
February 26th, 2013
8:29 am
Notice how pimp daddy obozo hasn’t threatened to shut down the white house travel office yet?
geez
independent thinker
February 26th, 2013
8:29 am
Sorry for the error cons- that is $716 Billion (not million)dollars the two stupid party clowns accused Obama of cutting from Medicare as high crimes and misdemeanors. Funny how Kyle does not mention a word about his heroes claims in the ill fated electiIf the president were to be reelected you’re going to see a $716 billion cut to Medicare,” Romney said. “You’ll have 4 million people who will lose Medicare Advantage. You’ll have hospitals and providers that’ll no longer accept Medicare patients. I’ll restore that $716 billion to Medicare.”"”"”"”"”"”
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/2012/1004/Presidential-debate-101-Is-Romney-right-about-716-billion-in-Medicare-cuts
Yeah right the Kenyan Marxist is not trying to cut entitlements- How about cutting Romney’s deduction for interest carryovers and $75,000 write off for that dancing horse or taxing those offshore profits?
HDB
February 26th, 2013
8:29 am
What many people fail to note is that in economic downturns, the federal government is the last, best hope of arresting the downturn and creating economic growth! In every downturn save this one, the federal government hired people and went into deficit spending to EXPAND the economy….and when economic expansion was maintained and the private sector could recover…THEN did the government begin its contraction. What is happening now is that the government isn’t spending on a level it should be to foster recovery….while simultaneously contracting!! Granted, both parties have blame in this scenario….but the GOP fosters the majority for their refusal to work towards policies to expand the economy for those who need it the most…rather, they would persist in maintaining the status quo so that those of means could continue to prosper!!
If the sequester adversely affects the nation as is expected, will Republicans continue to shift the blame to someone they refuse to work WITH (remember — their goal was to make Obama a “one-term President”….and have persisted in obstruction and obfuscation….)…..or will they admit to attempting to maintain a wealth-focused orthodoxy at the expense of the nation as a whole???
Jefferson
February 26th, 2013
8:41 am
Children will always be the first to call names, if you are a child do it.
Aesop's Fables and other Lib Economic Theories
February 26th, 2013
8:45 am
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) tells FOX News if House Speaker John Boehner “caves” and agrees to tax revenues to avoid the sequester, he will lose his speakership.
Dat’s what I’m talking about.
Aquagirl
February 26th, 2013
8:46 am
of course, if BO is certain that horrific outcomes are on the horizon, why doesn’t he simply let the sequester happen to put what my be one of the final nails in GOP coffin?
Maybe because he does believe it would have long-lasting and negative effects and he doesn’t want that. Most politicians do have a germ of conscience and occasionally balk at actions that will directly cause bad $#!^ in return for only their personal gain.
I can’t believe I wrote that. My inner cynic is horrified.
indigo
February 26th, 2013
8:49 am
Barry – 8:28
Republicans are a MAJORITY in the House.
Real intelligent, Barry.
Lil' Barry Bailout - OBAMAPHONE!!!
February 26th, 2013
8:55 am
Yeah right the Kenyan Marxist is not trying to cut entitlements
——————-
Entitlement spending is exploding. Real intelligent, i.t.
Lil' Barry Bailout - OBAMAPHONE!!!
February 26th, 2013
8:56 am
indigo: Republicans are a MAJORITY in the House.
——————–
Uh, which chamber is SENATOR McCain in?
indigo: Another unfortunate victim of public schools.
independent thinker
February 26th, 2013
9:00 am
Time to cut the “Obamaphone program sarted by the real culprit -George W.:
“”"”"”"”"”The Tea Party Victory Fund, a super PAC, released a misleading ad recently implying that President Barack Obama was passing out free phones to gain votes.
“Keep Obama in president…he gave us a phone,” an African-American woman in Ohio says repeatedly in the black-and-white video.
The text that appears over a talking woman in the video blames Obama for job loss and the national debt.But as The New York Times notes in an editorial, the Obama administration does not pass out free phones for votes. There is a national program that provides low-income people with free or discounted phones, but it was started under George W. Bush, Obama’s Republican predecessor.”"”"”"”"”"
http://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/Politics/myth-obama-phone/story?id=17507339
Ah the lies and deceptions of the cons are always amusing especially on this blog.That Little Barry guy is so much fun-Now I know why they call it the stupid party.
indigo
February 26th, 2013
9:00 am
Barry
Congress is the House and Senate.
Republicans control the House.
Democrats control the Senate.
I know where McCain is. That was not the point of my post, genius.
azazel
February 26th, 2013
9:12 am
bring it, everyone deserves the worst!!
James
February 26th, 2013
9:16 am
Thank God that we don’t get the government we pay for.
td
February 26th, 2013
9:19 am
HDB
February 26th, 2013
8:29 am
“What many people fail to note is that in economic downturns, the federal government is the last, best hope of arresting the downturn and creating economic growth!”
It is also well known (even Obama said it) that you never raise taxes in an economic downturn. Well taxes went up so that means Obama and the Dems believes the economic downturn is over or they wanted to kill jobs in the private sector.
TiredOfIt
February 26th, 2013
9:41 am
Aesop’s Fables and other Lib Economic Theories
February 26th, 2013
8:45 am
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) tells FOX News if House Speaker John Boehner “caves” and agrees to tax revenues to avoid the sequester, he will lose his speakership.
Dat’s what I’m talking about.
++
I recommend Ted Cruz
Just Saying..
February 26th, 2013
9:47 am
“Ted Cruz, the new face of the republican party.”
So many Democrats hope you’re right…
Just Saying..
February 26th, 2013
9:54 am
“Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) tells FOX News if House Speaker John Boehner “caves” and agrees to tax revenues to avoid the sequester, he will lose his speakership.
Dat’s what I’m talking about.”
If Boehner goes, the public is not aware of another GOP House member they’d trust to wash their car…
independent thinker
February 26th, 2013
3:51 pm
I hear McCain and Graham are slinking over to the White House to ask old Joe for help in getting Obama to cut a sequester deal they can sell to Boenhead in the House. Crazy Joe might have Jill pick up a rifle by mistake for protection from these two crazy loons..
Obama has the authority to ensure sequester cuts don’t bite | Kyle Wingfield
February 27th, 2013
9:18 am
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Numbers for Medicaid expansion don’t add up | Kyle Wingfield
February 28th, 2013
5:02 am
[...] large deficits Washington is running — as well as lawmakers’ reluctance to accept the relatively small cuts of sequestration, due to hit [...]