After Sequestration, A Shocking Proportion Of Government Spending Will Be On Entitlements

Business Insider ^ | 21 Feb 13 | Walter Hickey

[SkyPilot]

Sequestration is the series of blunt, across the board cuts that go into effect March 1 and will shrink the size of the federal government over the next ten years.

Several states will lose hundreds of thousands of jobs, the price of groceries could jump following USDA inspector furloughs, and the Congressional Budget Office reported that the austerity measures could initiate a recession. What's more, sequestration accomplishes a pathetic amount over ten years, all things considered.

It was designed to cut spending on things that constitute core government functions — money for infrastructure, schools and national defense. Social Security, Medicaid and many income security programs are untouched, and the percent sequestered from Medicare is very low.

Here's the composition of the federal budget by type of spending over time. Several agencies and functions have been combined for simplicity:

[SkyPilot]

The government will also be spending close to half of the budget on what are essentially insurance programs — income insurance for the elderly with Social Security, poverty insurance in the form of Medicaid, SNAP and other safety nets, and heath insurance in the form of Medicare.

Congratulations Boehner, Cantor, and Ryan.

By agreeing to this Faustian bargain in 2011, and now "embracing" it, not only do you get to split the Republican party, exempt entitlements, harm defense, and hurt the economy - you also get to achieve exactly the opposite of what you said sequestration would "solve."

Take a bow.

Ronald Reagan must be spinning in his grave.

[goldstategop]

I prefer sequestration over higher taxes.

Given that its impossible to cut social benefits, Congress chose an approach that will result in the least amount of pain to most Americans.

And if the GOP reopens the fight, it will lose. The party can’t explain why benefits to grandma should be cut while blocking a tax hike on the rich.

That is not going to happen.

[CoastWatcher]

THERE ARE NO CUTS!
This is only reduces the budget increases. No federal budget is reduced one red cent.

The Media and the demonic-rats are lying through their fangs. If they do not get the increase they want; they call it a cut. Only the people outside of government know the difference between a cut an a moderate increase.

[ballplayer]

Well if all this money is being cut from all these things,Billions,when do I get My share of it back since its not being spent I want my Refund

[GeronL]

after?

try has been for a while

these measly cuts in the rate of growth won’t fix anything

[TigersEye]

"Sequestration is the series of blunt, across the board cuts that go into effect March 1
and will shrink the size of the federal government over the next ten years."

[Opinionated Blowhard]

Its only “shocking” if you have paid absolutely no attention to the budget over the past 20 years. This has been going on for years under Dems and Republicans. Reagan slowed it down but didn’t reverse it. And Republicans like Bush expanded it. Entitlements and debt service have consumed the budget. But the media has actively worked to hide these facts from average Americans — which is truly criminal. So your average, uninformed American thinks he or she can keep living the good life and getting full benefits once the “rich” start paying their “fair share.”

[Paine in the Neck]

Eventually (and by that I mean soon) there will be no government spending but on "entitlements". It is the inevitable end to which socialism descends.

[sanjuanbob]

THERE ARE NO CUTS!

Exactly right...why all the confusion?

[publius911]

Marvelous job of hiding all the welfare (euphemism=entitlements) which attempts to spread out the parasites who contribute absolutely no net positive revenue, and account for half of the total budget.

Among the most humorous are the invisible welfare components under the umbrellas of "insurance," "Education," "research" and "Housing."

Those invisible welfare loads are the twenty pound tail wagging the 2-pound dog...