This article by
Reuters was published on the morning of March 2nd, after the sequester
was scheduled to take place. On Friday the sequester proceeded after it
wasn't suppose to happen in the first place.
Obama and a bipartisan group of congressional leaders failed on Friday
to avoid the deep spending reductions known as the "sequester," which
automatically kicked in overnight in the latest sign of dysfunction in a
divided Washington.
Because of the failure of Congress to make collaborative
decisions, the sequester is not in place.
The article highlights what President Obama feels about the sequester:
"These cuts are not
smart," Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address. "They
will hurt our economy and cost us jobs. And Congress can turn them off at any
time - as soon as both sides are willing to compromise."
Though
President Obama disagrees with the cuts, the sequester was still signed off by
him and cuts to agencies directly affected by the will start this week. Check out the rest of the article for details on what exactly these cuts mean for government employees.
I am most intrigued by this article's statements about Obamas contribution to the sequester, what he could have done, what he should have done. "Critics said Obama should have held meaningful talks with congressional leaders long before Friday's last-minute meeting at the White House, which failed to prevent the automatic cuts written into law during a previous budget crisis in 2011."
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, I think it's interesting to see where we place our blame. "Twenty-eight percent of Americans blame Republicans for the lack of a deal to halt sequestration, while 22 percent hold either Obama or the Democrats in Congress responsible, according to the Reuters/Ipsos poll. Thirty-seven percent blame them all." Personally, I blame both parties equally. The unwillingness to collaborate is apparent on both sides of the coin here.
This whole debacle and its inability to get solved--really highlights the greater problems we face with our Washington governance.
ReplyDeleteWe have an incredibly divided government, with completely opposite ideological principles. So many districts today are gerry-rigged, so no candidate has to bend to any new ideas/framework. Congress put this sequester in place, because the thought was-they'd have to be crazy to let this pass in place of making a more agreeable compromise. Though it hurt both sides in effect, neither one was able to budge to make a compromise. Not a deal where lesser sacrifices were made by both sides. They simply, could not get anything.accomplished.
Its just incredibly frustrating. The 2011 Debt Ceiling issue had the majority of it pushed off to a later date. The Fiscal Cliff was partially-compromised, then pushed off until this past March 1st. And because Congress couldn't even agree to push it back further this time, we have a situation that no-one wanted in the first place.
The cuts to both parties in this sequester are thought to definitively hurt our economy. But neither side could do anything to stop it from passing. My faith in Congress seems to decline further with each passing month of inefficacy.
Im excited to see what moves are made to try to get these cuts reversed and get the budget problem figured out. I think now that the cuts are in effect both sides will strive harder to come to an agreement. The fact of the matter is the two parties could not come to an agreement means that these cuts must have been the best option for now. Once the two sides come to an agreement my only hope is that taxes do not get raised once again. There are other ways to fix the spending problem such as less spending and more strategic spending.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that all this confirmed was that the sequester itself failed. The whole idea of it in the first place was to hold each side hostage so that they would make a deal. Obviously there was not enough risk put up by either party, so when it came down to crunch time, neither side saw the need to blink.
ReplyDeleteOne big cut that I've heard over the last few days is there will no longer by fly overs during sporting events after the national anthem. Its where those big jets fly over stadiums at an allotted time for the crowd to see. This problem needs to be resolved. Congress needs to work together in order for that to happen or they will see America go downhill.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Travis. This whole thing was really just showmanship. I also don't agree with the sequester as I think the reduction in G would mean lowered output and lower employment, which is consistent with Keynes' model.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Cameron's point and Travis' point. I think both sides are to blame for this. I usually find myself siding with the Republicans in these sorts of issues but I think both sides need to get off their high horses and start compromising. Out founding fathers were in a way worse off position when they were making policy decisions for our young country. The difference between then and now is that back then people were willing to compromise and out of the willingness to compromise came one of the greatest nations ever created. I think we need to get back to out roots, start compromising, and end the political showmanship that this whole sequester debate has turned into.
ReplyDeleteI am also intrigued as to where things are going to go from here. Hopefully, now the two parties can compromise and do whats best for the country and not whats best for their party but it may not be easy. This whole thing was put into effect so that the two parties would have to come to a compromise and that did not happen. Now, the two sides need to make a deal more than ever and i hope it happens soon.
ReplyDeleteI like Andrew's comment about gerrymandering. When you look at how some districts are formed geographically the areas make no sense. State legislatures have almost complete freedom to redraw district lines whenever they want to "manipulate" elections. I, like Andrew, think that as a result of this candidates do not need to cater to the opinions of their constituents, and have almost no accountability.
ReplyDelete