Didn't the President originally set this up to give him the power to make the cuts? So what--he doesn't want to responsibility?
Its not that much money--compared to the rest of the budget. Nothing I see substantiates the huge outcry that hundreds of thousands of jobs will be lost.

Its all politics.

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

No. They all agreed to it.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Perhaps not directly, but the knock on effect will be serious. If I get laid off as a defense worker, I'm not going to buy that new Chebby, get my shirts drycleaned , or go to movies and fine dining. The supplier where I was sending the USG's money is going to whack someone, and the same will apply downstream. It really doesn't take the loss of many decent paying jobs to upset the apple cart in this fragile economy.

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80 300SD (129k mi) 82 240D stick (193k mi)77 240D auto - stick to be (153k mi) 85 380SL (145k mi) 89 BMW 535i 82 Diesel Rabbit Pickup (374k mi) 91 Jetta IDI Diesel (155k mi) 81 VW Rabbit Convertible Diesel 70 Triumph Spitfire Mk III (63kmi)66 Triumph TR4a IRS (90k mi)67 Ford F-100 (??)

Modern government jobs are thus, not unlike pyramid building. We need pyramids because it keeps people employed.

So "trickle-down economics" does exist?

The defense industry is huge here (Pratt, Sikorsky, General Dynamic/Electric Boat, United Technologies, Hamilton Sunstrand + their subcontractors) plus the Groton sub base (and Coast Guard Academy). The potential ramifications of across the board cuts is staggering. At some point, though, these contractors better find ways to diversify because eventually that cash cow is going to start drying up.

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

Well put. I think the new pyramids ought to be something constructive, not destructive , as they have been. Infrastructure. Transit. Better to waste it and have something positive to show for it than a hole in the ground somewhere that we are responsible for fixing.

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80 300SD (129k mi) 82 240D stick (193k mi)77 240D auto - stick to be (153k mi) 85 380SL (145k mi) 89 BMW 535i 82 Diesel Rabbit Pickup (374k mi) 91 Jetta IDI Diesel (155k mi) 81 VW Rabbit Convertible Diesel 70 Triumph Spitfire Mk III (63kmi)66 Triumph TR4a IRS (90k mi)67 Ford F-100 (??)

mars attacks blow up congress.wmv - YouTube

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1991 560 SEL / 185k miles
1992 750il / 17k miles - project car

How does a 2.4-ish% reduction in the growth of government spending cripple the economy again ?

Out of the 85 billion, about 38 billion will be borrowed. So, is the US Government better off by not incurring another 38 billion in public debt?

We handed out around 50 billion in aid to those impacted by super storm Sandy, so it looks like it's close enough for me and it's a draw.

I am thinking that any politician, be it Rep. or Dem., who is serious about the public debt and what we borrow would be super happy to slice off 2.4-ish% from the monster our elected officials have created. Actually, I am wondering why they are not yelling for at least a 10% cut each year.

x2

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2013 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid SEL Premium (Sparky)
http://badges.fuelly.com/images/smallsig-us/193500.png

It's a car not a science experiment! Open the throttle!

We don't need pyramids of any sort. It's an illusion to think that government programs produce jobs. They do not. Profit produces jobs. Profit comes from improving efficiencies. People who make money hire people by creating wealth. That's where jobs come from.

I'm trying to think of a government example of improving efficiency. Maybe SOCOM over regular forces? But we don't use them for profit. It is so last century.

The military can be considered a "government program". I can assure you that it produces hundreds of thousands of jobs across many industries. Profit may result in the companies that employ those people or it many not result...........depending on how the company is managed. Accordingly, profit within the company is absolutely not relevant to the number of jobs created by the government due to government programs.

Jobs are produced, damned right. Profit is not.

The money supporting those jobs comes from either increased debt, fees, or taxes. This is money extorted from the private sector to pay for public jobs.

With no profit, wealth is not created. Wealth is consumed. The government is the single largest consumer of wealth.

It is pyramid building.

You have changed your statement.

I agree with the change.

I guess that's a problem, huh?

In my opinion gov jobs are produced by taking wealth from the market. Generally markets produce more job efficiency than government. Therefore one could reasonably argue that government jobs reduce private sector employment at greater than 1:1.

Braude Beat: Congress on recess as sequester approaches

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57569521/with-sequester-looming-congress-takes-a-break/

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2013 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid SEL Premium (Sparky)
http://badges.fuelly.com/images/smallsig-us/193500.png

It's a car not a science experiment! Open the throttle!