Making sense of sequester

Posted Thursday, Mar. 07, 2013 0 comments  Print Reprints
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I'm an idiot when it comes to the economy, and my calculator doesn't have the capacity.

So could someone please explain something to me?

Depending on the source, the total amount spent annually by our federal government is $3.5-$4 trillion. The sequester cuts that are dominating the headlines amount to about $85 billion. That equates to a shade over 2 percent of total spending.

It would seem, though, that these cuts will affect all of us in some way -- in education, transportation, health services and the military, to name a few. That this tiny sliver of spending can affect so many makes no sense.

Oh, wait, this is the federal government we're talking about.

It would be nice to get an answer from Washington, but that's where the problem resides.

-- David Ross, Bedford

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