Sequestration - Kicking
the can down the road
Federal funding reductions that will slash most federal programs and entitlements by 8.2 % may take effect on Jan. 2, 2013. These cuts are due to sequestration, in response to Congress not passing a budget deal last year. The Obama administration has been fighting for us to keep this from happening. If sequestration goes into effect, over $100 billion in cuts will take place across the board.
While Social Security and Medicaid are expected to remain as they are, Medicare is expected to lose 11 BILLION. One billion will be dropped from special education. Housing assistance will be dropped $14 million. Developmental disabilities may face a 2.5 billion loss. These are just some of the programs that will incur losses. Losses will occur in any program for which federal government has no mandatory funding requirement. Therefore, forestry, environmental, infrastructure, and all other federal departments expect to suffer an 8.2 percent loss.
The only way to keep this from happening is to demand that our congressional representatives and senators work with the administration now to reach an agreement on a budget. We, as citizens, must force both parties to work together for the well-being of the country of the whole. Our country’s well-being must be the highest priority.
When I think of political loyalties that fly in the face of reality, I am reminded of a European rodent, a shrew. If you put three shrews in a bottle, once they get hungry, two will gang up and eat the third, the weakest, alive. A short time later, when the two remaining get hungry, they will turn on each other and one will succeed in eating the other alive. Within a few hours thereafter, the remaining one will get gluttonously hungry and for lack of insight, will eat his own living body, to the death.
I should add that this scenario takes place in a jar that has an open mouth. Since the shrews are too focused on their hunger and each other, they will not see the open mouth, nor strive to escape the crisis. This experiment has been repeated numerous times.
I would hope that we citizens are smarter than shrews and that we insist that our congress does not seek to behave like shrews, seeking only for themselves, their parties, their interest groups, their financial backers for re-election, to the death of us all, starting with devouring the weakest citizens first (elderly, disabled, impoverished, veterans). Insist they do not devour our country out of greed and self-interest masked as false ideology.
If sequestration happens, we are all to blame. Whether you like or dislike Obama is not the issue. We need congress to work with the President now.
Candace Cole-McCrea
Candidate for State Rep, Strafford District 1
Federal funding reductions that will slash most federal programs and entitlements by 8.2 % may take effect on Jan. 2, 2013. These cuts are due to sequestration, in response to Congress not passing a budget deal last year. The Obama administration has been fighting for us to keep this from happening. If sequestration goes into effect, over $100 billion in cuts will take place across the board.
While Social Security and Medicaid are expected to remain as they are, Medicare is expected to lose 11 BILLION. One billion will be dropped from special education. Housing assistance will be dropped $14 million. Developmental disabilities may face a 2.5 billion loss. These are just some of the programs that will incur losses. Losses will occur in any program for which federal government has no mandatory funding requirement. Therefore, forestry, environmental, infrastructure, and all other federal departments expect to suffer an 8.2 percent loss.
The only way to keep this from happening is to demand that our congressional representatives and senators work with the administration now to reach an agreement on a budget. We, as citizens, must force both parties to work together for the well-being of the country of the whole. Our country’s well-being must be the highest priority.
When I think of political loyalties that fly in the face of reality, I am reminded of a European rodent, a shrew. If you put three shrews in a bottle, once they get hungry, two will gang up and eat the third, the weakest, alive. A short time later, when the two remaining get hungry, they will turn on each other and one will succeed in eating the other alive. Within a few hours thereafter, the remaining one will get gluttonously hungry and for lack of insight, will eat his own living body, to the death.
I should add that this scenario takes place in a jar that has an open mouth. Since the shrews are too focused on their hunger and each other, they will not see the open mouth, nor strive to escape the crisis. This experiment has been repeated numerous times.
I would hope that we citizens are smarter than shrews and that we insist that our congress does not seek to behave like shrews, seeking only for themselves, their parties, their interest groups, their financial backers for re-election, to the death of us all, starting with devouring the weakest citizens first (elderly, disabled, impoverished, veterans). Insist they do not devour our country out of greed and self-interest masked as false ideology.
If sequestration happens, we are all to blame. Whether you like or dislike Obama is not the issue. We need congress to work with the President now.
Candace Cole-McCrea
Candidate for State Rep, Strafford District 1
