The Sequester Debacle in the US

[Coito ergo sum]

“In fact, the final deal reached between Vice President Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in 2011 included an agreement that there would be no tax increases in the sequester in exchange for what the president was insisting on: an agreement that the nation’s debt ceiling would be increased for 18 months, so Obama would not have to go through another such negotiation in 2012, when he was running for reelection. So when the president asks that a substitute for the sequester include not just spending cuts but also new revenue, he is moving the goal posts… [T]hat was not the deal he made.”

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/bob-wood ... z2M7XaXC00


And, another article from Woodward back in October 2010: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1012/82772.html

So, the President is now suggesting that he won't go through with the deal he made unless the Republicans agree to more tax hikes. Is there anything to see here?

Should the President and the Democrats cut the spending they agreed to cut? If not, why not?

Are these spending cuts even all that bad? From what I've seen, they're not that much, really, as a percentage of total spending, and it's more of a slowing of the increase of spending as opposed to any sort of real "cut". To me, a "cut" would mean that a program gets less money this year than it did last year. I'm not sure they've identified anything substantial that would actually be "cut."

I say just let the sequester cuts happen. They're not even really going to dent the deficit or the debt.





If these cuts are "draconian" as the Democrats like to describe them as, then what kind of cuts are they actually proposing making? Any? If not, why did they agree to the deal?

[Tero]

There was a deal? I thought it was just politicians talking. Everything before election is made to a "deal" nobody has to hold to.

[Drewish]

Seriously, when I saw this deal I was hoping me might finally get some needed cuts in the military, but now it seems like Obama views ANY cuts as bad. It's almost as if he's buying into the, "we can outgrow the debt!" lies that Krugman and other useful idiots spout.

[Tero]

The whole thing is a bunch of nonsense. There is no fiscal cliff, no
disaster looming on the horizon
http://news.yahoo.com/greatest-sequeste ... itics.html

[Drewish]

The whole thing is a bunch of nonsense. There is no fiscal cliff, no
disaster looming on the horizon
http://news.yahoo.com/greatest-sequeste ... itics.html

At the same time, we’re spending less on unemployment benefits. First-time unemployment claims continue to hover at the relatively high level of 360,000. But thanks to an improving jobs market and the expiration of extended unemployment benefits, the number of people receiving benefits has fallen sharply

Just pointing out one obvious way that article fudges the numebrs. Seriously. That article is trash, absolute garbage making it seem like our deficit isn't still growing (in fact it claims that it's shrinking) and that the economy has recovered (unemployment numbers say otherwise). I really do hope you were linking to that as a good source of something to be mocked.

[laklak]

It's a load of unmitigated bollocks. So a few Federal workers are going to take a couple of unpaid holidays? Boo-de-fucking-hoo. Time they found out what the rest of us have been dealing with for the last five fucking years. Fuck it, drive the goddamned thing off the cliff. I want total societal collapse, I want people eating dead bodies in the streets and Arab slavers trolling the malls for underage Goth chicks. I want insane Mexican drug lords boiling across the unprotected borders, massacring innocent grannies as the pillage. Flames licking out the Capital rotunda windows while laid-off fireman cheer. Public hangings. Looters. Werewolves with frickin nose lazers. I got my goddamn fucking guns, I ain't askeert. Bring it, mofo.

[Ian]

The whole thing is a bunch of nonsense. There is no fiscal cliff, no
disaster looming on the horizon
http://news.yahoo.com/greatest-sequeste ... itics.html

At the same time, we’re spending less on unemployment benefits. First-time unemployment claims continue to hover at the relatively high level of 360,000. But thanks to an improving jobs market and the expiration of extended unemployment benefits, the number of people receiving benefits has fallen sharply

Just pointing out one obvious way that article fudges the numebrs. Seriously. That article is trash, absolute garbage making it seem like our deficit isn't still growing (in fact it claims that it's shrinking) and that the economy has recovered (unemployment numbers say otherwise). I really do hope you were linking to that as a good source of something to be mocked.

The deficit's still growing? Is this something you're hearing? It has shrunk by half a trillion dollars over the last four years. Kinda hard to fudge numbers like that. And you're also saying the economy hasn't recovered? At all? Sure as shit could fooled me. Just what information are you going on?

Care to discuss how well massive budget cuts have helped Europe recover so well? Or do you just want to cheer on impending budget cuts based on right-wing theories rather than actual history?

[Drewish]

My mistake, I said deficit, when I meant to say debt. And no thanks, [insert personal insult here].

[Ian]

True about debt, definitely. And there's no need for personal insults, is there?

[Drewish]

Care to discuss how well massive budget cuts have helped Europe recover so well? Or do you just want to cheer on impending budget cuts based on right-wing theories rather than actual history?

[Ian]

So, you don't have a reply to that? The idea doesn't make sense, or have you just not noticed any news from Europe over the last five years?

[Drewish]

Forget it. You clearly are unable to see the hypocrisy in thinking my "[insult personal insult here]" was uncalled for, right after making that comment. Ignored list.

[Ian]

Huh? Is "right-wing theories" an insult?

[Tero]

Hey lookee here, red bars and blue bars. It's all history now.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/infographics/us-national-debt

[Svartalf]

Huh?

Never mind, this seems to be a chip on shoulder case ending bad