Automatic U.S. spending cuts destructive: administration

[Zorro]

Source: Reuters

The Obama administration on Friday presented the most detailed breakdown yet of $109 billion in across-the-board spending cuts set for January 2, saying they would be "deeply destructive" to defense and non-defense programs.

While adding that it was ready to work with Congress on a replacement plan, the White House said it had done its part and that it was time for lawmakers to do theirs.

The cutting, known as sequestration, "is a blunt and indiscriminate instrument" and "not the responsible way for our nation to achieve deficit reduction," said the White House introduction to a lengthy budget document.

The itemization - millions slashed from familiar programs such as health and science research, the national parks and the Internal Revenue Service as well as the much larger categories of defense and domestic spending - is likely to raise new public concerns in the middle of the presidential and congressional races which are entering the home stretch.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/white-house-says-january-2-spending-cuts-deeply-180507581--business.html

---

This should make interesting reading for the Congress over the weekend. One item of note is that it appears the House of Representatives is going to lose over $100 million for salaries and expenses because of the sequester.

You can find the document at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/legislative_reports/stareport.pdf

[BlueMTexpat]

1. Wouldn't it be nice if the Reps had to lose their health insurance too

so that they could remember what it's like for those in the trenches?

[Mnpaul]

4. The first to go

Should be the $1000 a month we pay for their vehicles, written off as office supplies ala Chip Cravaack, teabaggeR- Mn.

They get paid enough money to lease their own damn car.

[tama]

2. Across-the-board

means government just raising hands up, sticking head up in arse and declaring 'we can nuffin'. I know, we had that same bollocks 20 years ago. And it hasn't got any better since.

Any sane person knows that US should just cut military, military, military, and some other insane spending that's not good for anyone but corporate robbers.

[reflection]

3. What you said.

The military spending is outrageous. There's no other way to get our house in order.

[sad sally]

5. Maybe, just maybe, most of these greedy sobs will earn their money re-reading the

sequester rules THEY agreed to. From the 2011 OMB document:

How do the sequestrations work if there is a Continuing Resolution?

If Congress does not pass a budget, and instead passes a series of stop-gap Continuing
Resolutions (CRs) that fund the government for a month or two at a time, sequestrations will
only occur if Congress passes a CR that causes discretionary spending to breach the caps. If
the CRs never push total discretionary spending for the fiscal year above any of the caps, there will not be a sequestration.

For FY 2013, however, the process is more unclear, since this particular process has never
been used before. The Super Committee sequestration happens on Jan. 2, 2013, regardless of the level of spending appropriated for that year. But under a CR, due to OMB’s accounting
rules, the Super Committee cuts would essentially be doled out in relation to the CR’s duration. Thus, for instance, if Congress passed a four-month CR, only one-third of the cuts would occur on Jan. 2 (since four months is a third of the year). The rest of the cuts wouldoccur whenever Congress passes funding for the rest of the fiscal year. At the end of the year, the cuts are the same, but when they occur depends on if Congress is operating under these stop-gap funding bills.

http://www.ombwatch.org/files/budget/debtceilingfaq.pd
----------------------------------------------------

On Sept. 13, House Republicans passed a continuing resolution spending measure to keep the government operating through March. The Senate hasn't voted on it; it probably won't be passed by them, especially with the President's plan he just handed congress.

Get to work, Paulie, Mr. Ranking Budget man!

[magic59]

6. Let the cuts begin

I would love to see defense get gutted. The reason we have so many enemies around the world is because we have our big nose stuck in everybody's business.
All other cuts are just collateral damage.

[SoapBox]

7. Ditto to what you said

[Stargazer09]

9. Hey now

There are actually hard-working (and progressive) Americans working as government civilians in the defense department. Not to stick our noses in everyone's business, but to keep our country safe.

If sequester happens, many people are going to be out of work, including my husband, and it's going to be really ugly for our entire family.

Many, many of his co-workers are also military veterans, and unfortunately, not all military skills translate well to the corporate world. For many vets, transitioning to civilian life means working for the DoD, which will make sequester even more damaging for people who are already having a hard time finding jobs outside of the military environment.

[Zorro]

10. Agreed

Sequestration will be extraordinarily painful for many government personnel and their organizations. It will likewise have a ripple effect throughout the economy on those businesses and merchants who will be affected by the the loss of those government employees who are also business customers.

Sequestration is a self-inflicted wound that will only create more suffering. And the Republicans are the architects of this policy disaster by their absolute refusal to consider sane fiscal policies.

One can only hope that Congress will recognize that their offices are also going to be impacted and that they will have to lay off members of their own staff. Perhaps that will motivate them to compromise on taxes.

[AlbertCat]

11. I would love to see defense get gutted.

Doesn't need to be gutted. 1/3 of it.... hell 1/5 of it would be a huge step in the right direction

There's so much waste. Like building bombers to fight the USSR.... and an extra engine for each fighter too. Yep a warehouse or two full of extra engines for obsolete planes.

Of course you'll hear cries about the workers who build these things will lose their jobs. They can't build something else? Wind turbines? Up-to-date planes?

[madville]

8. 109 billion?

Is that really that big of a cut?

The Federal Reserve is creating that much out of thin air on a regular basis. That's only about one month of our annual deficit.

Maybe just get Ben to whip up 109 billion more on the ledger, problem solved.

It's all play money now anyway.

[grahamhgreen]

12. Bull. Cut defense, tax the rich, end the deficit and the madness.

No brainer