The Sequester

The sequester seems to be pretty much disliked by most people and involves the federal budget. The government knows that it needs to cut back on spending and handle the growth of the US national debt which consists of trillions of dollars and is increasing every second. CNN describes it as "a fiscal doomsday device" but it also says that some people are in favor of it because it is a chance for "real savings and deficit reduction". I think even if it leads to some savings, the debt will still be huge and I'm not sure it will really even make a dent in the national debt or the growth of the debt.

Ways the sequester is used is cutting money from many different departments. For example, 500 billion dollars will be cut from the defense department while the rest will be cut from other things. According to an ABC News article, the sequester has been in debate for over a year and when it will happen and how exactly has been discussed and argued by many people. It is designed to be carried out over 10 years and will end up being 1.2 trillion dollars! It seems sort of like a temporary fix but I don't know how it will really go because the national debt in rapidly increasing.

In a Washington Post article about the sequester, they say that the sequester was supposed to happen at the beginning of this year. The cuts should have already taken place but they still haven't. I believe this is because it the US wasn't ready to make the move because it would have thrown us into a recession. The cuts, if they ever happen will be evenly split between domestic and defense functions. Obama apparently wants the sequester replaced and would replace it with an increase in taxes. This probably doesn't make  a lot of people happy either. In general, there is a ton of debate over the pros and cons and people have many different points to how the sequester should be carried out.