A few weeks ago I wrote about the Washington Monument ploy. It’s a tactic the political class uses to lash out against the people to inflict as much pain and punishment as possible whenever government spending is reduced.
“Is reduced”?
Did I say that?
Hell, we’re talking about…
…even the suggestion that government spending might be reduced (that’s why the Washington Monument tour was closed by a high-level bureaucratic pig in 1969).
“Reduced”? Did I say government spending might be reduced?
I must be delusional (don’t respond to that). Who’s kidding whom? The political class will lash out at the public when there’s even a hint that the planned increases in government spending might be curtailed.
So it is with the upcoming March 1st “sequester.” The federal government spends about $3.8 trillion a year, of which more than 40% is borrowed. The sequester boogeyman will stop the planned increase in spending by $85 billion . That is a “cut”—in the rate of increase—of less than 2.5%.
Resulting media headlines? “Agencies Outline Deep Cuts Under Sequestration” (federaltimes.com). “Legal Aid Groups Lose Big if Federal Budget Slashed” (National Law Journal). “Military Service Leaders Decry Cuts” (Washington Post). “MacDill (air force base) Warns of Deep Cuts” (Tampa Tribune). “Federal Cuts Would Devastate Military” (federaltimes.com).
More to come. It’s early yet.