Sequestration

 

 

 

"This is like being shot with your own gun..."

It was never suppose to happen. It was a game of chicken that went horribly wrong. As we know, spending limits enacted in August 2011 as part of a debt limit deal capped new discretionary budget authority for ten years and also called for an automatic spending “sequester” to further reduce spending. Many Republicans are especially worried about the roughly $55 billion that will be stripped out of the defense budget for each of the next nine years if Congress doesn’t act to modify or repeal the sequester.

Many on congress don't want this to happen. The amount to be stripped out of the budget are equal between defense and discretionary. Entitlements are off limits. In large, the Republicans are more concerned about the cuts to defense, the Democrats are more concerned about the cuts to discretionary. The result of the August 2011 impasse is either come up with more funding, find other mutually agreeable cuts or accept the sequestration. What makes this particularly interesting is this also needs to be addressed before March 1, 2013. Fixing this will be a Herculean task for a Congress which gets along. With this Congress - figure the odds.

The specter of deep, mindless cuts in every defense program, regardless of its priority, was intended to ensure that some agreement would be found to reduce the deficit by a similar amount. Yet that nightmare, which was never supposed to happen, is coming closer to being reality.

Defense spending, including the Defense Department and the nuclear weapons complex within the Department of Energy, makes up 19 percent of the current budget. But under sequestration, that 19 percent absorbs 50 percent of the total cuts. Under the law, the president has the authority to exempt defense personnel costs, such as military salaries and medical care, from being reduced by sequestration. Personnel costs make up close to a quarter of military spending. Assuming that the president doesn’t want to be responsible for cutting the pay of service members, that means that 50 percent of the cuts will be inflicted on only 15 percent of the federal budget.

The chairman of Lockheed Martin has said more than once if this sequestration stands, manufacturing layoffs at Lockheed will be in the six figures. Don't forget, there are also Raytheon, BAE, General Dynamics and Boeing that will be affected. Working in the defense industry for almost 25 years, I have seen many programs that were terminated. When a termination takes place, it is a huge waste of money. Layoffs, plant closings, and loss of "tribal knowledge" on weapon systems are results of program terminations.

With this anvil hanging over our heads, not to mention the fiscal cliff getting closer every day, Congress is getting ready to go on vacation for over a month. If these cuts don't alarm you, they should. The world continues to be a very dangerous place, filled with people who would not mind killing you, your family and taking what you have. Not being dramatic, just factual. Not addressing this issue is nothing short of a dereliction of duty. If this sequester takes place on March 1, 2013, every member of Congress who did not fight this catastrophic event should be fired and then charged with something akin to treason.