Some Points on Sequestration

 

1. We are not talking about actual cuts. The government will still be on track to spend more this year than it did last year. We are talking about cuts in the rate of growth. For example, if you expect to get a $10,000 raise next year, but you get $7,500 instead, your pay has not been cut. You are still getting $7,500 more next year than you did this year.
2. If sequestration does occur, we are talking less than 3%. I heard someone on one of the talk shows put a good perspective on this. He said that if you make $1000 a week, and your pay is cut 2%, you're talking about $20 a paycheck. You will not lose your house and car over $20, and if you do, then you were over-extended to begin with. Instead, you might do without a Starbucks three times a week, or cut out one restaurant meal. Incidentally, Obama effectively gave the working citizens a 2% pay cut January 1 this year. If we're paying our "fair share," shouldn't the government be expected to do the same?
3. Why is Obama tooling around the country on Air Force One (wasting more taxpayer money) talking to people who can't solve the problem? Those people elected Senators and Representatives to speak for them on tax and economy issues, and they are the only ones with the votes to accomplish anything. Why isn't Obama in Washington talking to them?
4. Is our government operating so lean and mean that 2% in unnecessary spending can't be found? Is Obama saying that there's not at least 2% of our budget that is wasted? Let's start there with cuts. For example, we overpay scam operations like the Scooter Store while cutting the reimbursement rates for legitimate medical providers. The Scooter Store has been overpaid between $46.8 million and $87.7 million in the last couple of years, yet they were already under a 5-year agreement to return $19.5 million in overpayments. What's wrong with this picture?
5. Perhaps we could cut some of Obama's stimulus. Do you realize how much money has gone down the tubes in government subsidies for green energy? So far, 34 companies that were offered federal support from taxpayers have gone down the tubes or are about to do so. The 2009 stimulus included $80 billion to subsidize the president's pet energy projects. Since that time, more than 1,000 investigations have been opened  to look into stimulus waste, fraud, and abuse, and nearly 600 convictions have been made. So not only are we out the $80 billion we gave these companies, we're also out the cost of the investigations.
6. Bottom line: Sequestration is not the end of the U.S.A. as we know it. That happened a little over four years ago.