Posted on Jan 5, 2016
The first sequester cuts took effect in 2013. Do you believe the cuts were evenly divided between defense and non-defense spending?
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Defense
Posted 9 y ago
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A few thoughts:
- Were sequestration cuts evenly divided between defense and non defense spending? Hell no.
- Only about 20-30% of the federal budget is discretionary spending which sequestration targeted. The rest of the budget is non discretionary spending which must eventually be tackled to solve the problem.
- Sequestration is an example of idiocy and bureaucracy run amock. Let's come up with a plan so bad that it will force us to do the right thing, not do the right thing, then implement the bad plan that we never intended to implement.
- The US Government is taking in more revenue than ever before (about $3T) yet is still racking up debts and deficits (there is a difference). The budget will not be balanced unless and until governmental expeditures are reduced.
- Unfortunately, I do not think either party, the President, or Congress is up to the task. I think we will require a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution if we ever want to have a hope of getting the Federal budget under control.
- Were sequestration cuts evenly divided between defense and non defense spending? Hell no.
- Only about 20-30% of the federal budget is discretionary spending which sequestration targeted. The rest of the budget is non discretionary spending which must eventually be tackled to solve the problem.
- Sequestration is an example of idiocy and bureaucracy run amock. Let's come up with a plan so bad that it will force us to do the right thing, not do the right thing, then implement the bad plan that we never intended to implement.
- The US Government is taking in more revenue than ever before (about $3T) yet is still racking up debts and deficits (there is a difference). The budget will not be balanced unless and until governmental expeditures are reduced.
- Unfortunately, I do not think either party, the President, or Congress is up to the task. I think we will require a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution if we ever want to have a hope of getting the Federal budget under control.
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Yes, unfairly so. Defense was 18% of the budget but took 50% of the cuts.
http://www.cbpp.org/research/policy-basics-where-do-our-federal-tax-dollars-go
http://www.cbpp.org/research/policy-basics-where-do-our-federal-tax-dollars-go
Policy Basics: Where Do Our Federal Tax Dollars Go? | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
The federal government collects taxes to finance various public services. As policymakers and citizens weigh key decisions about revenues and expenditures, it is instructive to examine what the government does with the money it collects.
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SSgt (Join to see)
This adminstration is in contempt of us in the military.
Stands to reason this crazy stuff.
Capt Seid Waddell
Stands to reason this crazy stuff.
Capt Seid Waddell
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Capt Seid Waddell
SSgt (Join to see), and the GOP was gutless and out-maneuvered by the Dems. The thought was, according to reports, that the sequester was supposed to be so unacceptable to both sides (military cuts on the right, social spending cuts on the left) that it would force both sides to agree to more palatable budget cuts.
The GOP got snookered though because of the proportions of the sequester cuts; the extra heavy military cuts and the lighter social spending cuts BOTH played into the Dems' hands - it was a win/win for them to be intransigent in the negotiations.
The GOP got snookered though because of the proportions of the sequester cuts; the extra heavy military cuts and the lighter social spending cuts BOTH played into the Dems' hands - it was a win/win for them to be intransigent in the negotiations.
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Agree the cuts weren't even and they were not designed to be in the first place. The other thing people miss is how it played out. Operational and "essential" could work, nonessential could not. However, the support mission never got reduced so had to be made up when the folk came back to work. Morale which was low in the first place got whacked by the sequester and then double downed by getting beat up to do more with nothing when you got back. Unit skippers didn't want to be the one that missed all the shopping list at the end of the fiscal year. That was another reason why I thought it was a great time to retire.
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