Economics The Sequester and/or Government Shutdown Approacheth - Page 4

Direckshun · 11:11 PM

Anybody else ****ing fed up with this shit? 2013: Year of the Cliff.

Sequester hits March 1st. Government shutdown hits March 27th.

Here's the conversation on the fiscal cliff. Here's the conversation on the debt ceiling (which we'll be returning to by May... sigh).

The White House discusses the entirety of the impact in post 136. It's devastating.

Here's the FAQ on the sequester (from September):

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...ter-explained/

The sequester, explained
Posted by Suzy Khimm
on September 14, 2012 at 2:35 pm

The White House has released its plan explaining how the sequester’s mandatory spending cuts to defense and domestic spending will be implemented in 2013. Here’s the background on what the sequester is, how it happened and what happens from here:

What is the sequester?

It’s a package of automatic spending cuts that’s part of the Budget Control Act (BCA), which was passed in August 2011. The cuts, which are projected to total $1.2 trillion, are scheduled to begin in 2013 and end in 2021, evenly divided over the nine-year period. The cuts are also evenly split between defense spending — with spending on wars exempt — and discretionary domestic spending, which exempts most spending on entitlements like Social Security and Medicaid, as the Bipartisan Policy Center explains. The total cuts for 2013 will be $109 billion, according to the new White House report.

Under the BCA, the cuts were triggered to take effect beginning Jan. 1 if the supercommittee didn’t to agree to a $1.2 trillion deficit-reduction package by Nov. 23, 2011. The group failed to reach a deal, so the sequester was triggered.

Why does everyone hate the sequester so much?

Legislators don’t have any discretion with the across-the-board cuts: They are intended to hit all affected programs equally, though the cuts to individual areas will range from 7.6 percent to 9.6 percent (and 2 percent to Medicare providers). The indiscriminate pain is meant to pressure legislators into making a budget deal to avoid the cuts.

How would these cuts affect the country?

Since the details just came out, it’s not entirely clear yet. But many top defense officials have warned that the cuts will lead the military to be “hollowed out.” Democratic legislators have similarly warned about the impact on vital social programs. And defense, health care and other industries that are significantly dependent on federal spending say that major job losses will happen if the cuts end up taking effect.

At the same time, if legislators try to avoid the sequester without replacing it with real deficit reduction, the U.S. could face another credit downgrade.

Why did Congress and the White House agree to the sequester in the first place?

The government was approaching its debt limit, which needed to be raised through a congressional vote or else the country would default in early August 2011. While Democrats were in favor of a “clean” vote without strings attached, Republicans were demanding substantial cuts in exchange for raising the debt limit.

President Obama and congressional leaders ultimately agreed to the BCA, which would allow the debt ceiling to be raised by $2.1 trillion in exchange for the establishment of the supercommittee tied to the fall-back sequester, as the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities explains. The deal also includes mandatory spending reductions on top of the sequester by putting caps on non-entitlement discretionary spending that will reduce funding by $1 trillion by 2021.

Who supported the debt-ceiling deal?

Party leaders, the White House and most members of Congress supported the debt-ceiling deal: The BCA passed on a 268-161 vote in the House, with about one-third of House Republicans and half of House Democrats opposing it. It passed in the Senate, 74-26, with six Democratic senators and 19 Republican senators opposing it.

Can the sequester be avoided?

Yes, but only if Congress passes another budget deal that would achieve at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction. Both Democrats and Republicans have offered proposals to do so, but there still isn’t much progress on a deal. The political obstacles are the same as during the supercommittee negotiations: Republicans don’t want to raise taxes to generate revenue, while Democrats are reluctant to make dramatic changes to entitlement programs to achieve savings.

What happens from here?

No one on Capitol Hill thinks any deal will happen before Election Day. After Nov. 6, Congress will have just a few weeks to come up with an alternative to the sequester. The challenge is complicated by the fact that the Bush tax cuts, the payroll tax, unemployment benefits and a host of other tax breaks are all scheduled to expire Dec. 31. The cumulative impact of all of these scheduled cuts and changes is what’s popularly known as the fiscal cliff. There’s already talk of passing a short-term stopgap budget plan during the lame-duck session to buy legislators more time to come up with a grand bargain.

**mlyonsd** · 01-30-2013, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedNeckRaider

Bush caused it duh~

I keep forgetting that. Bush was probably chopping firewood on his ranch at such a rapid pace it cause the tsunami.

I wonder how long it will take to blame Bush for the upcoming fiscal problems. Obama basically cut our revenue source by permanently extending Bush tax cuts for the majority of Americans. I'm sure he'll call them 'Bush' tax cuts even though he now owns them.

As our debt continues to skyrocket to a disastrous outcome I wonder if history books will replace Hoover with Obama as the biggest idiot we've had as a president.

**RNR** · 01-30-2013, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mlyonsd

I keep forgetting that. Bush was probably chopping firewood on his ranch at such a rapid pace it cause the tsunami.

I wonder how long it will take to blame Bush for the upcoming fiscal problems. Obama basically cut our revenue source by permanently extending Bush tax cuts for the majority of Americans. I'm sure he'll call them 'Bush' tax cuts even though he now owns them.

As our debt continues to skyrocket to a disastrous outcome I wonder if history books will replace Hoover with Obama as the biggest idiot we've had as a president.

Bush is still in control, he is the most powerful man to ever live! This one single man all by himself caused every single problem we have! Poor Obeyme is no match for him~

**mlyonsd** · 01-30-2013, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedNeckRaider

Bush is still in control, he is the most powerful man to ever live! This one single man all by himself caused every single problem we have! Poor Obeyme is no match for him~

I will admit Obama has been Bush's bitch a lot more the last 4 years than I expected.

**RNR** · 01-30-2013, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mlyonsd

I will admit Obama has been Bush's bitch a lot more the last 4 years than I expected.

Shhh don't tell anyone where you heard this! Obama is really George W. Bush~

Direckshun · 01-31-2013, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by petegz28

Oh bullshit. When the Dems were in the minority we hear it was for that reason they couldn't get anything done. When they had the super majority we heard it was the Repub's fault. Now that they still have the majority it's still the minority Repub's fault.

See the pattern? It's always someone else's fault.

It's nobody's fault, yet. We haven't hit the sequester.

The fact that we're facing a sequester in the first place is definitely on the GOP. Who could even argue?

The GOP forced the debt ceiling standoff in 2011, which created the sequester in the first place.

Direckshun · 01-31-2013, 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC Dan

Agreed but the Dems demanded that be in the sequester as the poison pill for the repubs. But, it's the repubs fault?

It's the Republicans' fault that we have a sequester to deal with.

As for what's in the sequester, the Democrats and Republicans both demanded a bunch of gigantic, stupid cuts that both side hate.

Direckshun · 01-31-2013, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mlyonsd

Which finalizes two points.

If government spending accounts for that much of our economy we've ****ed ourselves to begin with.

How big a failure Obama's recovery really is.

I suppose the first point is up for debate, but a gigantic slash in spending would take roughly 2% out of any President's GDP.

Direckshun · 01-31-2013, 08:59 AM

Hm.

The Fed is saying the contraction was also largely due to "disruptive weather" (i.e. Hurricane Sandy).

**mlyonsd** · 01-31-2013, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Direckshun

It's nobody's fault, yet. We haven't hit the sequester.

The fact that we're facing a sequester in the first place is definitely on the GOP. Who could even argue?

The GOP forced the debt ceiling standoff in 2011, which created the sequester in the first place.

Out of morbid curiosity, do you smile or at least chuckle to yourself when make posts like this?

**KC Dan** · 01-31-2013, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Direckshun

It's the Republicans' fault that we have a sequester to deal with.

As for what's in the sequester, the Democrats and Republicans both demanded a bunch of gigantic, stupid cuts that both side hate.

You couldn't be more wrong. As was delineated in Woodward's book, the two sides had a deal in 2011 but the Prez decided to up the ante on taxes by $400 billion and Boehner couldn't get more than the $800 billion in new taxes thru the House. Then, and only then did the admin/dems propose the Sequester but thanks for playing revisionist history with us

**petegz28** · 01-31-2013, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Direckshun

Hm.

The Fed is saying the contraction was also largely due to "disruptive weather" (i.e. Hurricane Sandy).

No shit

**petegz28** · 01-31-2013, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Direckshun

It's nobody's fault, yet. We haven't hit the sequester.

The fact that we're facing a sequester in the first place is definitely on the GOP. Who could even argue?

The GOP forced the debt ceiling standoff in 2011, which created the sequester in the first place.

Bullshit....dude, take your revisionist history somewhere else, you are giving party hacks a bad name

Direckshun · 01-31-2013, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mlyonsd

Out of morbid curiosity, do you smile or at least chuckle to yourself when make posts like this?

I long since lost the capability to feel human emotion.

I'm more machine, now, than man.

Direckshun · 01-31-2013, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC Dan

You couldn't be more wrong. As was delineated in Woodward's book, the two sides had a deal in 2011 but the Prez decided to up the ante on taxes by $400 billion and Boehner couldn't get more than the $800 billion in new taxes thru the House. Then, and only then did the admin/dems propose the Sequester but thanks for playing revisionist history with us

I've read Woodward's books.

The fact that the failed debt ceiling negotiations were even negotiated in the first place was because the GOP made the unprecedented decision to hold the economy hostage in the summer of 2011.

Direckshun · 01-31-2013, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by petegz28

Bullshit....dude, take your revisionist history somewhere else, you are giving party hacks a bad name

By all means, enlighten me.

01-24-2013, 11:50 AM
Direckshun Black for Palestine Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Springpatch Casino cash: $33532	The Sequester and/or Government Shutdown Approacheth Anybody else **ing fed up with this shit? 2013: Year of the Cliff. Sequester hits March 1st. Government shutdown hits March 27th. Here's the conversation on the fiscal cliff. Here's the conversation on the debt ceiling (which we'll be returning to by May... sigh). The White House discusses the entirety of the impact in post 136. It's devastating. Here's the FAQ on the sequester (from September): http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...ter-explained/ The sequester, explained Posted by Suzy Khimm on September 14, 2012 at 2:35 pm The White House has released its plan explaining how the sequester’s mandatory spending cuts to defense and domestic spending will be implemented in 2013. Here’s the background on what the sequester is, how it happened and what happens from here: What is the sequester? It’s a package of automatic spending cuts that’s part of the Budget Control Act (BCA), which was passed in August 2011. The cuts, which are projected to total $1.2 trillion, are scheduled to begin in 2013 and end in 2021, evenly divided over the nine-year period. The cuts are also evenly split between defense spending — with spending on wars exempt — and discretionary domestic spending, which exempts most spending on entitlements like Social Security and Medicaid, as the Bipartisan Policy Center explains. The total cuts for 2013 will be $109 billion, according to the new White House report. Under the BCA, the cuts were triggered to take effect beginning Jan. 1 if the supercommittee didn’t to agree to a $1.2 trillion deficit-reduction package by Nov. 23, 2011. The group failed to reach a deal, so the sequester was triggered. Why does everyone hate the sequester so much? Legislators don’t have any discretion with the across-the-board cuts: They are intended to hit all affected programs equally, though the cuts to individual areas will range from 7.6 percent to 9.6 percent (and 2 percent to Medicare providers). The indiscriminate pain is meant to pressure legislators into making a budget deal to avoid the cuts. How would these cuts affect the country? Since the details just came out, it’s not entirely clear yet. But many top defense officials have warned that the cuts will lead the military to be “hollowed out.” Democratic legislators have similarly warned about the impact on vital social programs. And defense, health care and other industries that are significantly dependent on federal spending say that major job losses will happen if the cuts end up taking effect. At the same time, if legislators try to avoid the sequester without replacing it with real deficit reduction, the U.S. could face another credit downgrade. Why did Congress and the White House agree to the sequester in the first place? The government was approaching its debt limit, which needed to be raised through a congressional vote or else the country would default in early August 2011. While Democrats were in favor of a “clean” vote without strings attached, Republicans were demanding substantial cuts in exchange for raising the debt limit. President Obama and congressional leaders ultimately agreed to the BCA, which would allow the debt ceiling to be raised by $2.1 trillion in exchange for the establishment of the supercommittee tied to the fall-back sequester, as the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities explains. The deal also includes mandatory spending reductions on top of the sequester by putting caps on non-entitlement discretionary spending that will reduce funding by $1 trillion by 2021. Who supported the debt-ceiling deal? Party leaders, the White House and most members of Congress supported the debt-ceiling deal: The BCA passed on a 268-161 vote in the House, with about one-third of House Republicans and half of House Democrats opposing it. It passed in the Senate, 74-26, with six Democratic senators and 19 Republican senators opposing it. Can the sequester be avoided? Yes, but only if Congress passes another budget deal that would achieve at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction. Both Democrats and Republicans have offered proposals to do so, but there still isn’t much progress on a deal. The political obstacles are the same as during the supercommittee negotiations: Republicans don’t want to raise taxes to generate revenue, while Democrats are reluctant to make dramatic changes to entitlement programs to achieve savings. What happens from here?** No one on Capitol Hill thinks any deal will happen before Election Day. After Nov. 6, Congress will have just a few weeks to come up with an alternative to the sequester. The challenge is complicated by the fact that the Bush tax cuts, the payroll tax, unemployment benefits and a host of other tax breaks are all scheduled to expire Dec. 31. The cumulative impact of all of these scheduled cuts and changes is what’s popularly known as the fiscal cliff. There’s already talk of passing a short-term stopgap budget plan during the lame-duck session to buy legislators more time to come up with a grand bargain. Last edited by Direckshun; 02-09-2013 at 11:11 PM..
Posts: 49,870

01-31-2013, 08:59 AM	#53
Direckshun Black for Palestine Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Springpatch Casino cash: $33532	Hm. The Fed is saying the contraction was also largely due to "disruptive weather" (i.e. Hurricane Sandy). __________________
Posts: 49,870

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