Budget issues call for compromise not conflict
Published 11:00 pm Wednesday, February 20, 2013
So President Obama has declared sequestration to be a bad thing?
Interesting, considering just two years ago the president pushed for the process that automatically implements significant spending cuts come March 1. And as he stood in front a line of decorated military officials earlier this week and warned that those folks would lose their jobs due to sequestration and its cuts, the irony may have been lost on many Americans.
But it is ironic. And disappointing.
Earlier this month, as President Obama delivered his State of the Union address, it was painfully clear to the average observer that little if anything, has changed in Washington. Congressional leaders and the administration remain sharply polarized and divided. The president continues to push his agenda which calls for significant increases in government spending and taxation, while offering no real and solid plan to enact much needed spending cuts. As a popular tagline says, “it’s a spending problem, not a revenue problem.”
Now, the president wants to trot out military leaders and warn they’ll lose their jobs, thanks to lack of consensus and ability of both the president and Congress to compromise and govern effectively.
Sequestration is just another card in the ongoing game being played by the president and congressional leaders. And sadly, the American public stands to be the loser.