Sequestration: by the Numbers

There is a very dangerous game of chicken taking place in the beltway. It is also cynical to a degree related to national defense I am having trouble finding a historical comparison.

When the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction failed to find a savings agreement, the Budget Control Act of 2011 mandated $487 billion in security cuts over the next 10 years and included a small but devastating provision that will trigger $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts, effective January 2013. An estimated $492 billion of those cuts will come from security spending in the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, the National Nuclear Security Administration and other defense- and intelligence-related programs. The bottom line is, programs related to our nation’s defense will absorb half of the sequestration costs despite being just 19 percent of the national spending budget.

Not only is the sheer size of those cuts — about $54 billion a year, equal to two years’ worth of all Defense Department shipbuilding and maritime systems — a massive problem, but the implementation is leaving budget planners stumped.
...
Cuts will go into effect automatically in January, ...

When does this become an election year issue?

Only one thing will stop this - strong, principled leadership from the very top.

Do you see that right now?