"The OMB issued a stark analysis of the impact of the cuts in a letter to Congress that was issued with the report and signed by Jeffrey Zients, deputy director for management. "The cuts required by sequestration will be deeply destructive to national security, domestic investments and core government functions," Zients wrote."The joke is on us. There no cuts. The government will spend more this year than last year. All that was cut was the rate of increase in spending. I think this has been well covered by the media for once, so I think Obama is losing this debate. Somebody called Obama's application of the cuts the Washington Monument Syndrome.
"The Washington Monument syndrome, also known as the Mount Rushmore Syndrome,[1] or the firemen first principle,[2][3] is a political tactic used in the United States by government agencies when faced with budget cuts. The tactic entails cutting the most visible or appreciated service provided by the government, from popular services such as national parks and libraries[1] to valued public employees such as teachers and firefighters.[2] The name derives from the National Park Service's alleged habit of saying that any cuts would lead to an immediate closure of the wildly popular Washington Monument.[4] Critics compare the tactic to hostage taking or blackmail.[5]"That description fits Obama perfectly. Here's one way Obama is using the cuts to spark outrage:
"Public schools everywhere will be affected by the government's automatic budget cuts, but few may feel the funding pinch faster than those on and around military bases."Obama is intentionally targeting the children of the military to spark outrage. I think it's going to blow up in his face. What's interesting is that our supposedly adversarial system finally did something positive. Neither sided wanted these cuts, but they wanted to punish the other side more, so they happened anyway. That's the first positive development in politics I can ever remember. The bigger issue here is the upcoming government shutdown. This is all just posturing.
Obama is also grounding the wildly popular Air Force Thunderbirds.
Newly appointed Defense Secretary Hagel immediately championed Obama's baloney.
"Half of the cuts will fall on the Pentagon. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the reductions put at risk “all of our missions.”"That's absurd. Hagel stood up to the Israel lobby and fellow Republicans, but he's an Obama yes-man.
Democrats are afraid nothing bad will happen because of the cuts.
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