Sequestration by the Numbers

by Rob Engstrom: Earlier this month, the deadline to avoid sequestration came and went without Congress reaching a compromise to dodge across-the-board, arbitrary spending cuts.

The U.S. Chamber opposed the sequester cuts as bad public policy, and their negative impact is already being felt in certain industries. But comparing the $1.2 trillion cuts to our overall debt ($16 trillion) and wasteful spending that still takes place, makes you wonder if we couldn’t be more targeted about what needs to be cut.

Net interest payments to the debt alone will cost $5.41 trillion in the next ten years. So, we’ve come up with a few numbers to put this big idea into perspective.

In short, the sequestration adds up to cuts made haphazardly, in the wrong places.

Federal programs that didn’t necessarily need to feel pain were sacrificed at the expense of... calligraphers?

In the midst of budget season, we’re hoping that Congress can come up with a financial plan that will address our exploding debt, while getting our economy back on track.

But as we said last week, this spending battle has just begun.
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Rob Engstrom is the Senior Vice President and National Political Director at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

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