The Republicans have gone up to their playroom and are playing paper dolls. Scissors flying, they're cutting out new clothing for their old obsessions dollies. The New York Times calls it "cutting government, blindfolded," and says it's the result of their self-imposed "sequester."
An alarming White House report issued Friday shows that the full impact of next year’s ham-handed budget cuts would affect virtually every government function, not just the Pentagon.
From the Secret Service to food inspection to air traffic control, a broad range of programs would be cut by at least 7.6 percent, whether they are essential or frivolous. A few categories are exempt, including Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, Social Security, veterans affairs and military personnel. Everything else would be run through a Procrustean band saw, a mindless way to govern.
These cuts, known as the sequester, were the result of the debt-limit crisis created by House Republicans last year, when they threatened to throw the government into default if the deficit were not reduced. President Obama and the Democrats tried to respond with a balanced package of spending reductions and tax increases on the rich. But when Republicans refused the deal, the two sides agreed on a different incentive: $100 billion a year in indiscriminate cuts to programs that each side holds dear.
So far, though, it hasn’t produced any serious negotiation on the deficit. The House, as recently as Thursday, has made several attempts to cancel only the defense sequester and double the size of the domestic cuts. That won’t fly with the Senate or the White House. ...NYT
At best (and it's not good) this is the same childish approach to government the Republicans have taken since leaving behind that American economic hero, George W. Bush.
Just so you know, Congressional Republicans are not going anywhere near a salary cut for themselves, though they do propose a teensy-weensy paring down of their expense accounts (probably cleaning staff would take the hit). They certainly aren't giving up on new time-and-money-wasting games for the new session.
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