Some vital budget cuts due to the sequester

Columbia Journalism Review highlights a few cuts: 

• the chief federal public defender in southern Ohio, who laid himself off;  
• 50 Head Start teachers in Kentucky thrown into poverty along with their children when they were laid off; 
• Florida workers whose last four weeks of extended unemployment benefits were denied without warning;
• a woman made homeless by hurricane Katrina eight years ago, who was about to get housing but did not; 
• a physician whose breast cancer research grant was slashed 75 percent; 
• elderly Meals on Wheels participants who will eat less often;
• cancer patients whose life-extending medicines are no longer available to them.

We're really lowering the deficit, which is our most important problem.

Protecting the World

That seems to be the job of our military.  And it's a job that keeps growing.  Since the mid-20th-century we have had bases in Germany, Japan, South Korea, Italy, and the UK.  In the 21st century we have built bases in Bahrain, Djibouti, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, and Kyrgyzstan.  We also have a military presence of some kind in Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Oman, Pakistan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, U.A.E., Uzbekistan, and Yemen.  

Since 2001, the US defense budget has increased by more than a trillion dollars, not including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  How much is the sequester cutting from the budget?

Sequester Effects To Date

ProPublica has an extensive list of what has happened thus far.  First, let's list some areas not affected: Congressional salaries, nuclear weapons, Veterans Affairs, an infant nutrition program, and funding for security at U.S. embassies abroad.  Some agencies have been able to evade some of the provisions of the law through lobbying and other pressures: FAA, Agriculture, Fish and Wildlife.

Research and education have been especially hard hit.  NSF will make 1,000 fewer grants.  DOE may have to cancel all new programs and initiatives for at least two years. Education on Indian reservations as the government pays 60% of the reservations' school budget. Seventy thousand kids will not be able to attend Head Start.

At least Obama has agreed to return 5% of his salary.

More Sequester Stupidity

Sometimes spending a dollar today results in your saving more than a dollar tomorrow.  Dave Johnson has a list of some of those investments that have been cut by the sequester:

• Meals on Wheels - keeping people in their homes by bringing them meals is a tad - a big tad - better than moving them to nursing homes.
• IRS - laying off 89,000 agents means less enforcement of tax collections. One estimate: $1 saved in expenses means $200 lost in revenue.
• Scientific and Medical Research - who knows what inventions may never see the light of day?
• Defense - this across-the-board cut prevents spending money on worthwhile projects.

The days go on but what are our leaders doing about anything beyond arguing?

Another view of the sequester

The logic of the sequester

The sequester legislation directed that the fees paid to cancer clinics for chemotherapy drugs be cut by 2%.  A small amount that will cost the clinics the profit they had been making on these drugs, which at 6% was not great.  So, some clinics will stop seeing these patients, who will then have to go to hospitals for chemo, which will result in the government paying an average of $6,500 more annually than for chemo delivered in a community clinic.  Furthermore, Medicare patients will wind up spending $650 more in out-of-pocket costs when they lose access to clinics. 

This must make sense to someone.  I don't understand it.

Leadership at Work

Republicans say the sequester-driven spending cuts start Friday, March 1.  The Democrats say Saturday, March 2.  Is there anything on which they can agree?  They should all resign and begin their second career with the lobbying firms now.

If they really wanted to make some cuts, all they need do is read the GAO reports, which spell out the areas that are simply waste or require intelligent management.