KaBOOM! by PES

On to sequestration!

The end of the world! Our Comedian in Chief, he’s such a card.

Slaying the Make-Believe Sequester Monster

Washington’s professional politicians are doing their level best to use the prospect of fearsome sequestration budget cuts to scare the rest of us into endless refrains of “Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!”

The sequestration scares are the ultimate example of the Washington Wink-Wink: Politicos from both parties warn of imminent disaster if the federal budget is “cut” even though they know government spending will be higher in 2013 regardless if the sequestration “cuts” are implemented.

Put another way, the sequestration scares are lies, pure and simple. Not just bunk, not just distortions or mis-statements, but lies. And every professional politician – Democrat, Republican, Socialist, Independent – in this town knows it.
. . .
Put another way, this whole series of threats that the Pentagon won’t be able to defend the nation, passengers will have to suffer three and four hour waits in security lines at the airports (when they are open), women and children will be thrown off Food Stamps, and on and on are … lies, pure and simple lies.

Could it be that Congress ranks below used car salesmen in public esteem is because most voters have figured out that they are being lied to on issues like sequestration?

Sequestration scares are the ultimate Washington Wink-Winks

People, the sequester only lowers spending relative to baseline growth.

That is to say, it doesn’t actually cut spending in the sense a regular normal person would view it.

Over the full 10 years of “deep” cuts, after the “doomsday machine” ravages us, Federal spending will be higher than it is now.

I am not making this up!

Federal spending is over 3 trillion dollars. We are talking about cutting 85 billion from its growth.

That’s like a pimple on your pimple.

Calling this “one of the worst policy ideas in our nation’s history” is just amazing hackery.

Slavery was one of our nation’s policies.

Interning Japanese Americans with no cause in WWII was one of our nation’s policies.

The war on drugs is one of our nation’s policies.

Extra-legal drone killings of Americans (and non-americans) is one of our nation’s policies.

I’d say that the sequester is actually an above average policy for our nation.

défenestrer le sequester?

All I can say is that it will be a great day when the Air Force has to hold a bake sale to bomb all the Solyndra factories.

Tax Cut, Sequester Hypocrisy Means Never Having to Say You’re Sorry Full of Shit.

[“Democracy in Deficit“] made one central point; politicians enjoy spending and do not enjoy taxing. These natural proclivities must emerge so long as politicians are responsive to constituents. I have often used this example as the simplest possible illustration of public choice logic. The normative implications are clear; ordinary politics contains a procedural flaw that can only be corrected by the imposition of constitutional constraints.

“Better Than Plowing” by James Buchanan

I shared a couple of amusing sequester cartoons the other day, and I’ve previously written about the absurdity of anti-sequester hysteria in Washington when all it means is that the federal budget will grow by $2.4 trillion over the next 10 years rather than $2.5 trillion.
. . .
Some bureaucracies will deliberately try to make the sequester as inconvenient and painful as possible for the American people. As I said in this Larry Kudlow interview, the heads of those agencies should be fired.

Of course, Obama will probably try to reward them, but those who favor responsible fiscal policy should do everything possible to expose the shameful game being played by these political hacks.

Debunking Sequester Hysteria from the Big Spenders in Washington

The country is in the very best of hands.

If you’re like us, you just can’t get enough news about the upcoming “sequester,” because you only love news stories that manage to be both mind-numbingly boring and crushingly depressing. But you might not understand what’s actually going on this week in our nation’s capital. That’s because (a) you’re not supposed to, and (b) nothing the federal government does makes any sense, at all, ever.

To help guide you through this crisis, which will surely and irrevocably change your life forever, we’ve put together a simple FAQ about the sequester, and how it might affect you (SPOILER ALERT: badly).

The Pessimist’s Guide to the Sequester

I confess that I am exaggerating today’s sequesterphobia a bit. But in my defense, I thought that exaggeration is part of the game we’re all playing.

If President Obama gets away with announcing with a straight face that the public servants who work for agencies such as the TSA and the Department of Agriculture cannot absorb teeny cuts in their bloated budgets without jeopardizing the health, happiness, safety and convenience of every American, then clearly this political game is being played according to topsy-turvy rules.

I mean, we all know that no one spends money as carefully and wisely as does Congress — except, of course, each of the millions of bureaucrats that Congress employs to watch over us with tender care. And no one doubts that every cent in Uncle Sam’s $3.8 trillion annual budget fulfills a vital public purpose that could not possibly in a million lifetimes be fulfilled by the private sector.

That’s why even the smallest reduction in Uncle Sam’s spending cannot be tolerated. And that’s also why no one should take seriously writers such as economist Thomas Sowell, who would have us believe unbelievable lies about government officials. In what universe does Professor Sowell live that would lead him to open a recent column with these paragraphs?:

“Back in my teaching days, many years ago, one of the things I liked to ask the class to consider was this: Imagine a government agency with only two tasks: (1) building statues of Benedict Arnold and (2) providing life-saving medications to children. If this agency’s budget were cut, what would it do?

“The answer, of course, is that it would cut back on the medications for children. Why? Because that would be what was most likely to get the budget cuts restored.”

My gosh, Professor Sowell’s view of political reality is so very unrealistic.

Sequesterphobia

Ozymandias

Mockery, truculence, and minimalist living are best, then enjoy the decline. We also need a Revolving Door Tax (RDT) and to prosecute politicians and staff and their “family and friends” who profit from insider trading.