PRESIDENT OBAMA called for “smarter government” in his State of the Union address. But Congress is about to enact $85 billion in across-the-board budget cuts that could be called “dumber government.”
The so-called sequester is the latest fiasco as the country lurches from one budget crisis to the next. It would force government agencies to cut the biggest, most visible items in the budget, like the size of the Army. It would also cut long-term investments in people and research — canceling summer internships, new student hires, and training programs for federal employees. But the sequester won’t do anything to attack the real waste and inefficiency in government programs.
Comments
Do you really think any of these folks in the TP on the far right or for that matter any number of pols you want to list are interested in these types of reforms. Heck no, that involves hard work and compromise. For years any number of us involved in govt. or in politics have said that the federal budget process was a shambles, a disjointed mess overseen by a Congress that does funding based uoon numbers they can't even figure out. If it wasn't for a professional bureaucracy the whole thing would come tumbling down.
And the public. Are you kidding me? Do you think the public cares or knows how the budget process works. Ever read the comment section on budgetary issues? People are clueless. Even the sequester is not understood. You got folks thinking the President can just point out who gets funding and who doesn't. The public doesn't even understand what "across the board" means and who has authority to do what.
Nah, the pols and the public are to in love with their ideologies to bother with the details. You see if you do what they want it will just be Utopia. People need to start electing some grown-ups to Congress and they really need to start learning how government actually works. Not how FOX says it works or MSNBC but how it actually works.
Atturk, great comment and very true, we sadly have a very uninformed country. they either listen to someone up on the podium or belive what journalist write, never,ever, find out for themselves.
Glance: GOP bills aimed to offset spending cuts - Business - Boston.com
is this ever disgusted? no
If you look at the items listed in the bill several could be quite useful and several are merely political talking points. However, these clowns won't even sit down with each other and go, "Well this is agreeable. This isn't." You could make some reasonable progress but not with this ideological nonsense abounding.
Never happen.
Are we witnessing "dysfunction" or an historic political debate over the proper role of the federal government in American society? Those who rail against the Tea Party seem to think that we can continue to expand taxes, entitlements and regulation of private behavior without damaging innovation and job creation. They are wrong. If we continue on the course charted by Obama, Pelosi and Company, we will end up like Greece and Spain. Does East Asia hold the key to economic success in years to come?
This comment has been removed.
too bad we have a leader that only knows how to campaign
Yeah, I agree with you my man! Boehner and his sidekicks McConnel and Cantor really need to stop campaigning. They have been campaigning against Obama for more than four years now! Glad you have finally seen the light!
attaturk: "...People need to start electing some grown-ups to Congress and they really need to start learning how government actually works."
Clean and simple observation on the pols and public, and I'm sure you'll get alot of back slaps for it... but, whose the "they"? You are right that the professional bureaucracy alone staves off implosion but I would submit that we, Johnny and Jane voting public are far more culpable to this disaster than the sum of misfits running this great land. And you can bet the beat goes on. In 4 or 5 months we'll have a brand new state senator - named Ed Markey or Stephen Lynch.
like Markey?
It takes a grown-up to elect a grown-up, but emotionally and intellectually the majority of US voters are not.
No need to rail against the Pee Party.. They do a great job of making themselves look like fools.
Potty humor. Impressive rhetoric.
How's OWS doing?
I think financial transparency is a huge issue, in all forms of government. A lot of people, including myself, are very cynical about how our government spends our tax dollars. If they want to remove the distrust show us where money is being spent and why there's a need for the service being provided. It's our money and we're entitled to know what's being done with it. With technology being what it is today there's certainly the means to do this.
As has been mentioned in many posts, most of the American public probably couldn't care less but the information would be made available to those of us who do, including watch dog groups and the media. People would then have black and white information to judge the efficiency of their government and not just have to wait for a scandal to break or lean on their ideology. Seems like a common sense thing to do given the current distrust of government.
Best article I have read on the budget sequester. This lady should be running the federal budget system.
Obama went for the Grand Bargain with Boehner before the election but the Tea Party said no in anticipation of a Prez Mitt whom they could tell what to do and where to sign. The Tea Party must be crushed. Hope the Republicans send up Rand Paul in 2016! In the meantime the sequester will hurt the most needy.
Lordchowder...you are a sad example of far-left wing socialism at work. Forget about the USA, just crush Rand Paul...who, by the way, just returned $600K of his UNUSED budget funds back to the government. You are a PROUD Ed Markey democrat.
"saveourpastime" They is "you" the public. Do you know how many comments I have seen regarding the federal budget that have no real relationship to the federal budget. Do you know how many people think "across the board" cuts means the Pres. can pick and choose what he cuts. Do you know how many people don't know the difference between long term debt and short term debt and the economic implications of either. Do you realize how many people don't know that the "long term" debt so ballyhood is nothing more than a best guess estimate based on certain figments of one's imagination.
As the young lady points out most agencies submit budgets that are not even considered when the Congress makes budgetary decisions. In then is up to the pros to figure out how things will work. I have not seen one honest discussion by pols or the public in the comment sections regarding the federal deficit. Folks are either for tax increases or budget cuts and the only reason they are for one or another is their political ideology. It has nothing to do with what is financially feasible and necessary.
Maybe folks dont know the terminology but they know there is tons of waste and inefficiency and they are FRUSTRATED AS HELL cuz nothing they can do about it. Did anyone ask if we want to spent $100 billion for corrupt "reconstruction" projects in Afghanistan? NO. But now this stupid idea will cut the airline controllers and National Parks. The horrible opaque system makes it impossible to figure it out unless you are willing to spend all your time on it and even then no way to do it.
Well at least you get the fundamentals. Spending money in one place can cost you money somewhere else and bad politics regardless of party leads to bad results for the public. It's a start.
"saveourpastime" or anyone for that matter. Who's idea was the sequester? Obama or the Congress? Answer; neither.
Correct answer: the Budget Contro Act called for this: “Unless a joint committee bill achieving an amount greater than $1,200,000,000,000 in deficit reduction as provided in section 401(b)(3)(B)(i)(II) of the Budget Control Act of 2011 is enacted by January 15, 2012, the discretionary spending limits listed in section 251(c) shall be revised, and discretionary appropriations and direct spending shall be reduced.”
A response to the failure of the supercommittee. But the pols on both sides will bloviate on it was the "other" guys fault.
We have a system which is so huge we can't throw a rope around it and corral it in. I don"t' understand the budget process and not even our congressmen/women.
Cutting Government waste? Fire Congress.
You couldn't even fire that corrupt old fraud John Tierney.
Another "If I ruled the world" column. Yawn. The sequester cuts $85 billion of budget authority but only $43 billion of actual spending. It's a rounding error. Life will go on largely unchanged.
According to Libs, Government will come to a Halt because of these 2% budget cuts. Absolute Rubbish! Wake up, we cannot Spend money we don't have on a Bloated and Inefficient Government that is bleeding us all dry. I know, I know...The Children!
Wow you got about a zero understanding of federal budgeting. I bet you think the federal govt. can go broke. Incredible lack of how your government works. That's what happens when we no longer teach civics or economics for that matter in school. The budget in and of itself has nothing to do with "liberal" or "conservative", but I know that's just to confusing.
Notice how the writer only blames Congress and acts as if Obama has nothing to do with this at all. Right now the House is proposing a bill that will give the president flexibility in making budget cuts within departments. This would allow departments to cut spending without laying people off or reducing essential services. But the White House is OPPOSED to such a bill. .And expect Harry Reid to not allow a vote on it in the Senate....Also the author never used the correct term "Baseline Budgfeting" in his convoluted argument. This simple term means that the budgets of all federal agencies automatically increase each year...The House wants to ban Baseline Budgeting. Harry Reid won't allow a vote on it.