Sequester Blues

This post was originally written on 2/27/2013

    It's two o'clock in the morning, my sleeping pill wore off after a measly three hours, and there's a bunch of Grandma shit bouncing around that I can do absolutely nothing about in these wee hours.  I could spend my time productively and clean my filthy house, but that sounds more depressing that what I'm actually doing- which is sitting here pondering the looming sequester thingy.  Even though I've been following the news on this for what seems like forever, I still just can't decide how I feel about it.


     On the one hand, I feel like it needs to happen because it is probably the only chance we have that any spending cuts will take place at all.  It is pretty clear that getting elected to a federal office in our country basically equates to embarking on a spending spree for however long the seat can be held.  I'm more inclined to believe in the existence of unicorns and sparkly vampires than I am to buy a story about the politician who has never once facilitated the wasteful spending of federal tax dollars.  To my thinking, it just stands to reason that if what it will take to get a balanced budget- and a realistic plan for getting and keeping us out of debt- is for all of the 537 elected members of the Federal Government to never spend more than we absolutely must spend, and to agree that we need to tax citizens enough to cover not only necessary spending but also debt and a savings account for emergencies, then we'll probably see Gingrich's Moon Colony realized first.  So, with that in mind, bring on the sequester and hope for the best.

     On the other hand, I have a strong hunch that if the sequester goes on as planned that the consequences will be just as dire as the gloom mongers are predicting.  That it will result in major job losses and the death of programs that people are relying on to survive, and we'll all be living out The Grapes of Wrath within a few years.  It's not that I honestly think the DOD can't function without 8% of their budget, or even that Medicare and the non-discretionary funds can't be shaved by the percentages they are going to lose either.  I wholeheartedly believe that a roomful of reasonable people with basic math skills could trim these budgets in a way that conforms to the sequester rules and doesn't leave the affected entities unable to function.  The problem is I suspect that if the sequester happens, it won't be reasonable people deciding on what gets cut and what gets funded- it will be politicians and the people who feed off them, and they will sit down with red pens in hand with a mind to making sure that these cuts are as painful as possible to the largest swath of the voting public.  No way will this process be allowed to be construed as beneficial when there is always another election just around the corner.

     Whichever way the coin toss ends, I have little faith left in my government that it will make a difference long term anyways.  History has shown us that any good that can be done by those in power can more easily be undone by those who rise to power in their wake.  Saving $1.2 trillion over the next ten years will be all for not if the amount of wasteful spending that results from the next decade's politicians is scheming to spend $5 trillion more than we can pay for.  It reminds me of shopping with my Grandma.  I can do everything right to keep her on budget- buy store brands, remind her that she doesn't need 5 boxes of Kleenex to add to the 20 she has at home- and it does me no good because she's still going to throw that $15 impulse purchase on the counter and tell me she's getting it whether I like it or not because it's her money to spend and she wants it.  Our government is made up of 537 Grandmas with Alzheimers- each with the power to throw a tantrum and blow the budget by insisting that they need or want something and not being willing to take no for an answer.