UNITED STATES—Well Congress has proved to us once again that the well-being of the public is not a concern of theirs. They have allowed the sequester cuts to go into effect after not being able to reach a tentative agreement before the February 28 deadline.
So what does this mean for Americans? The sequestration cuts are automatic cuts totaling more than $1.2 trillion over 10 years that will impact defense and domestic discretionary spending.
Those cuts are needed to help grapple with the growing national debt, as it appears that Congress and the President are on a free for all spending extravaganza, not keeping track on the numbers that our going out. At the present time, the nation is more than a few trillion dollars in debt. The goal with reaching an agreement before the sequester deadline was to reduce cost of theU.S.debt ceiling, which has peaked in the current years.
The nation’s Defense Department will feel a heavy impact as nearly $500 billion will be loss. Other government agencies that will be affected include the FBI, federal courts, national parks and housing aid. So how will this impact the everyday citizen? Well let’s face it; job growth is on the rise in the country, but its no where close to where it was before the economy crashed back in 2008. We are still feeling the remnants of the economic catastrophe, and likely are to feel those effects for another 2-3 years.
The sequestration deadline has businesses worried, which mean the likelihood of them gambling on hiring more employees’ decreases. As a side effect people will become more attached with their income; saving every possible penny as they’re not certain what will happen next with the economy. If people are not spending money that is not a good sign for the economy as it’s not generating revenue and helping business growth.
Everything that takes place inWashingtonD.C.has an impact on all Americans. I was seriously hoping after the fiasco involving the Fiscal Cliff these two political titans would realize that pointing fingers never solve anything. We’ve just reversed back to where we were several months ago. Republicans are blaming Democrats, and Democrats are blaming Republicans. Why isn’t anyone willing to stand up and accept the blame for what is happening to our nation. Time and time again politicians continue to fail to realize: it’s not all about you! It’s about the people who elected you into office to serve them.
Maybe, just maybe instead of us electing people to Congress, we just initiate a democratic process that allows every American citizen with the right to vote to decide what laws are passed. Perhaps if we steal that power that we have given to congressmen and congresswomen to vote on our behalf away from them, they’d realize why it’s important to look out for us. I fear that our nation is in an economic situation that is going to have an even bigger impact on us compared to the 2008 housing pitfall or the auto industry nearly going into bankruptcy shortly after. Will we recover from this? Likely, the only problem is how long will it take our nation to get back to where we need to be?
By Trevor Roberts
