Sequestration Aftershock
The sequester is what will go into full effect starting tomorrow if President Obama, and republicans can not reach a legislative agreement.
These cuts to social programs that would otherwise help the less fortunate are set to be extracted:
- Cuts to education: Sequester cuts will hurt kids of
all ages. 70,000 young children would be kicked off Head Start, 10,000
teacher jobs would be threatened, and funding for up to 7,200 special
education teachers, aides, and staff could be cut.
- Cuts to small business: Small businesses create two-thirds of all new jobs in America. Instead of helping small businesses expand and hire, the sequester cuts would reduce loan guarantees to small businesses by up to $540 million.
- Cuts to public safety: Federal funding to programs that help local fire departments meet staffing and equipment needs would be cut by an estimated amount of more than $35 million. The sequester also includes cuts to the Federal Aviation Administration and the Transportation Security Administration, meaning more delayed flights, longer wait times at the airports, and less security monitoring of our nation's flight systems.
- Cuts to food safety: Outbreaks of food borne illness are a serious threat to families and public health. The sequester cuts could mean up to 2,100 fewer food inspections, putting families at risk and costing billions in lost food production.
- Cuts to research and innovation: The impending sequester cuts would delay progress toward cures for many diseases and several thousand researchers could lose their jobs. Up to 12,000 scientists and students would also be affected.
- Cuts to mental health: The sequester cuts could mean that up to 373,000 seriously mentally ill adults and emotionally disturbed children go untreated.
- Cuts to small business: Small businesses create two-thirds of all new jobs in America. Instead of helping small businesses expand and hire, the sequester cuts would reduce loan guarantees to small businesses by up to $540 million.
- Cuts to public safety: Federal funding to programs that help local fire departments meet staffing and equipment needs would be cut by an estimated amount of more than $35 million. The sequester also includes cuts to the Federal Aviation Administration and the Transportation Security Administration, meaning more delayed flights, longer wait times at the airports, and less security monitoring of our nation's flight systems.
- Cuts to food safety: Outbreaks of food borne illness are a serious threat to families and public health. The sequester cuts could mean up to 2,100 fewer food inspections, putting families at risk and costing billions in lost food production.
- Cuts to research and innovation: The impending sequester cuts would delay progress toward cures for many diseases and several thousand researchers could lose their jobs. Up to 12,000 scientists and students would also be affected.
- Cuts to mental health: The sequester cuts could mean that up to 373,000 seriously mentally ill adults and emotionally disturbed children go untreated.
Although President Obama has put forth a deficit reducing plan which gives way to a balanced budget, republicans refuse to close tax loopholes that benefit the wealthiest Americans. Those tax loopholes include billions of dollars to oil companies, corporate jets, yachts and CEO salaries.
Once again the GOP is content with promoting "money over morals." After the sequester goes into full effect, it could cause another recession that could tank our economy. All the hard work and effort of the Obama administration along with the help of the American people, will be for nought if we end up losing everything all over again.
A new recession will cause President Obama to request funds for a stimulus package in order to jolt the economy back from its ruins. The stimulus would be needed almost immediately but would have to go through rounds of votes, before republicans agree on a number to their liking. Once both parties agree on a stimulus amount and the bill is passed and signed, it will go into effect as it drives our country's deficit even higher than it is now.
We would then have to dig ourselves out of a new recession without fully being out of the first one that the Bush administration caused, and making President Obama's job even more difficult. America could easily be on its way to a full recovery by next year, but because republicans in congress would rather kill our economy to score political points which they won't receive, Americans must once again carry the burden of possibly seeing another tax increase -- only to pay for another republican self-inflicted wound.
Only twenty-seven percent of Americans understand what the sequester means, and I'm betting republicans will use this new information to blame President Obama on every news media outlet that they can find.
Republicans are literally becoming the "death" of our country.
2013 LA
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