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Sequestration becoming more of a reality

Published 12:01am Thursday, February 28, 2013

Four years ago, the U.S. economy crashed — hard.

The stock market hit multi-year lows. Long-standing banks and financial institutions were crumbling and, quite honestly, it didn’t look like things would get better anytime soon.

The nation was scared of going over an economic cliff, never to return.

It wasn’t long before we all realized that the problem stemmed from a complete lack of leadership, oversight and prudence in the financial and housing markets.

Essentially, no responsible adults were driving the bus.

Slowly and methodically, however, the economy improved a bit and has been slowly inching higher ever since.

Yet, this week, political fighting may derail the economy again, all because our leaders refuse to compromise over the automatic, $1.2 trillion federal budget cuts.

Both sides of the political aisle agreed to light the time bomb’s fuse in 2011.

As originally conceived, the idea was that the sequester, as the automatic cuts are called, was so bad-tasting that no one actually would allow them to go into effect.

Now that we’re on the brink of seeing that happen, we see just how divided Congress is. Like two teenagers playing a game of chicken, both sides are too stubborn to flinch.

Again, our country is speeding down the road with no responsible adult hands on the steering wheel.

Let’s hope the next pothole isn’t as deep as the one we hit in 2009.

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  • http://www.endtime.com Keith

    Why blame Congress, This is President Obama’s baby. He wanted it, and he got it!!!! It is about time leaders in Washington started to have internal fortitude and stand up to this out of control spending POTUS!!! They should have been way more hardlined to his socialistic agendas years ago!!!

  • Anonymous

    Jiminey Christmas! A 2% decrease in ADDITIONAL spending and people act like its the end of the world. I’ve worked for the federal government. I vividly remember department chiefs running around at year’s end making us order unneeded equipment and supplies for the sole reason that any unused money in the budget MIGHT cause a budget decrease their their department the next year. The people telling you “Oh noes! We’ll have to cute these valuable services!” are either bald-faced liars or dumb as rocks, the two not being mutually exclusive.. To a government manager, his or her budget is a status symbol among peers. This is nothing but extortion, plain and simple.

    Again, this editorial appears to have been written by low-information voter who has no idea how government works or what is actually going on.

  • Anonymous

    This is an example of why this country is in the process of collapsing in on itself. You have a compliant media, all the way down to the local level, parroting the government line of gloom and doom. THERE ARE NO CUTS! Why can’t people seem to grasp that simple concept. The Federal budget is not decreasing one iota because of this. They will still be spending more money next year than this year. They just won’t be spending as much as they had hoped and dreamed. We are drowning in debt, $16 trillion and counting. The budget has increased precipitously under Obama, and what has the economic effect been? The economy is flat, and in fact retracted during the last quarter of last year. So a 2.4% decrease in the rate of growth of the budget is a good thing.

  • http://www.natchezdemocrat.com khakirat

    Gracious , last three comments of these people have forgot that when Obama took office we were heading straight into a deep depression!! Today, the stock market is to possible breaking the highest mark ever and the economy is growing and The majority of the people of this nation have more faith in President Obama and the democratic party than they do of the republicans!! People you best better count your blessing for you possible could have ended up in the soup lines and the streets huh’??!! We need to pray for this president and congress and thank God for the sunshine today in Adams county and not to be so pessimistic and think positive !!

  • Anonymous

    Maybe you should check the dictionary for the definition of “pessimistic”. We are not the ones claiming the country will fall apart because of sequestration. That would be the left.

    As an aside, I love how the left ranks on Wall Street and the “greedy” corporations right up until they think a rise in their stock prices means the economy is good. They wish for all sorts of bad things to happen to these “greedy” companies on “evil” Wall Street but point to them as a litmus of economic health. Contradict yourself much?

  • http://www.natchezdemocrat.com khakirat

    Yea, you republicans are blowing the horn claiming it not going to hurt or affect folks and as the president said maybe it want hit till a month or so but it will hit this spring though if nothing is done by the republican house that are going home at lunch time today but what goes around comes around huh’??!!

    In a message dated 2/28/2013 10:41:15 A.M. Central Standard Time, notifications@disqus.net writes:

    (http://disqus.com/)

    Crakalakin wrote, in response to khakirat:
    Maybe you should check the dictionary for the definition of “pessimistic”. We are not the ones claiming the country will fall apart because of sequestration. That would be the left.

    As an aside, I love how the left ranks on Wall Street and the “greedy” corporations right up until they think a rise in their stock prices means the economy is good. They wish for all sorts of bad things to happen to these “greedy” companies on “evil” Wall Street but point to them as a litmus of economic health. Contradict yourself much?

    _Link to comment_ (http://redirect.disqus.com/url?url=http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/2013/02/28/sequestration-becoming-more-of-a-reality/#comment-81552 9079:qcVgkXq0DwFWwqBd9zaQFbU-ecc&impression=a1930ab6-81c2-11e2-9adc-00304834 ba4a&type=notification.post.registered&event=email&behavior=click)

  • http://www.natchezdemocrat.com khakirat

    The republicans are the one to blame as usual and I have to laugh when socialistic is brought up!!

  • Anonymous

    I noticed a couple of hours ago that the Senate failed to pass a bill to avoid the sequestration. Isn’t the Senate a majority Democratic? Hmmmmm.

  • http://www.natchezdemocrat.com khakirat

    Terrible situation huh’??!!

    In a message dated 2/28/2013 7:16:36 P.M. Central Standard Time, notifications@disqus.net writes:

    (http://disqus.com/)

    oldsouthgent wrote, in response to khakirat:
    I noticed a couple of hours ago that the Senate failed to pass a bill to avoid the sequestration. Isn’t the Senate a majority Democratic? Hmmmmm.
    _Link to comment_ (http://redirect.disqus.com/url?url=http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/2013/02/28/sequestration-becoming-more-of-a-reality/#comment-81599 5646:Lz5clTpD2YjJHXAlubAinqCWIho&impression=1e9ae584-820d-11e2-a79d-00304834 ba4a&type=notification.post.registered&event=email&behavior=click)

  • Anonymous

    The market is moving up because investors know Obama only has 3 1/2 more years. It’s in spite of him, not because of him. He’ll go down in history as the worst president in history, huh!!??.

  • Anonymous

    On March 6, 2009 a regulatory report indicated that the 5 biggest banks still have large risk exposure due to derivatives that could fail.

  • http://www.natchezdemocrat.com khakirat

    In your dreams also will go down as one of the very best humanitarian president that got more important things done in two terms than most and would go outside of DC to be and talk to the general public to put them on their republican congressman not working with him!!

    In a message dated 3/2/2013 5:46:01 P.M. Central Standard Time, notifications@disqus.net writes:

    (http://disqus.com/)

    ubon70 wrote, in response to khakirat:
    The market is moving up because investors know Obama only has 3 1/2 more years. It’s in spite of him, not because of him. He’ll go down in history as the worst president in history, huh!!??.

    _Link to comment_ (http://redirect.disqus.com/url?url=http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/2013/02/28/sequestration-becoming-more-of-a-reality/#comment-81609 3583:oebAhQ8psfbE7nLl1EVSToTtlOc&impression=ba32102e-821e-11e2-a092-003048db 5eee&type=notification.post.registered&event=email&behavior=click)

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