Well, you have been sequestered. How does it feel? Did you even notice it? The sky did not fall. There were no massive layoffs. Social security and welfare checks did not cease. Airplanes did not fall out of the sky. Our military capacity was not decimated. Our borders were not overrun. The truth of the matter is that President “Chicken Little” and his supporters exaggerated the potential situation considerably.
At this point, a little history of sequestration would be instructive. Originally, sequestration was Mr. Obama’s idea. In July 2011 when Congress and the White House could not agree on a tax plan and spending cuts, he proposed it and pushed it as a compromise measure to avoid the US defaulting on its debt obligations. Mr. Obama lauded the measure as a solution to the impasse. He stated that it would not impact social security payments, medicare or medicaid and other programs for low income voters. Now, all of a sudden hw has changed his tune. It is safe to say that Mr. Obama was “for sequestration before he was against it.” (If this phrase sounds familiar, it should. It has often been used to mock politicians of both parties who have “flip-flopped” their positions on an issue.)
Mr. Obama is counting on Americans having a short memory. In addition, rather than demonstrating leadership, rather than applying the spending cuts in the most effieicnt and judicious manner, he has chosen to be divisive, looking to ascribe blame to the GOP.
PREDICTION AND CONCLUSION
The amount of these spending cuts is a drop in the proverbial bucket – approximately $42 billion out of a total budget of approximately $3.5 trillion. As I said, most Americans will hardly notice. Also, we desperately need to reduce our expenses and our debt.
Mr. Obama’s vision of socialism does not work in the long run. This is not opinion; it is fact. It has not worked in any other country that has tried it (Greece, Italy, France, to name a few). They have all encountered economic and social problems as a result. Why would we think it would work here? My anticipation is that the voters will come to realize this eventually, hopefully sooner rather than later.
We Built It Blog by Larry Jacob 