Sequester

So what is all this “Sequester” talk and what does it mean. Here are some simple facts.

The sequester came about because before the election both sides could not agree on how to attack the deficit.

Rather than deal with the issue then (Rep “no tax increases”, Dem “Raise taxes on the rich”) they agreed to automatic cuts if by Jan 1 they did not resolve.

On Jan 1 as you may recall there was no agreement and Republicans gave in to the pressure of rescinding the Bush cuts on those earning $400,000 and above

The cuts were delayed until March 1 so they could agree.

Here we are on March 1 and no agreement. Obama wants another $680 billion tax increase and the Republicans are saying “you got the taxes in Jan this is about the cuts”. With no agreement the automatic cuts kick in.

So that’s how we got here. Now let’s define “cuts”.

Cuts in Washington does not mean spending less than last year. It means a reduction in the increased spending planned.

Let me say that one more time clearly. Government spending is going up, this cut (2.4%) is in the increase, it is not a reduction from last year.

The administration has claimed planes won’t fly, ships won’t sail, jobs will be lost, prisoners will be freed, etc etc etc. All that on on a 2% cut in a $3.55 Trillion Dollar Budget.

Now think about this. Every working American was hit with a 2% tax increase January 1 — every. You figured it out in your personal budget didn’t you? Now don’t you expect your government to figure it out too — especially since your cut was real and this is off a larger increase?

Pretty simple isn’t it? We have a $16.7 trillion budget deficit that we are paying interest on. We are borrowing 40 cents of every dollar we spend. We need to get the budget under control. Is 2.4% off the increased budget too much to ask?

Nancy Pelosi speaking for the Democrats said we “don’t have a spending problem”. Do you agree?

Do you think the answer is to raise more taxes? On January 1 we raised every working American by 2%. We took the Bush tax cuts away from “the rich” and we added a 3.8% healthcare tax “to the rich”. Do you want to add more taxes or is a 2.4% spending cut okay now?

Your choice, our country and our children’t future. In my opinion we would never borrow money in our personal lives to leave our children to pay later. Yet that is what the government is doing with 40 cents on every dollar they spend. I worry about what we doing to their futures.