Sequester and Boehner

Well, it's now official, John Boehner is giving himself all the credit, the Speaker of the House circulated a memo to Republicans praising himself (can you believe this?) for leading America to the sequester, which he now owns, by his own pen.  Yeah, thanks a lot dude.

Your taxes at work

Congress doesn't work very hard, they do not even work 5 days a week.  They do not have a single week of 5 days scheduled, and no weekends either.  Pretty cushy schedule for someone earning $174,000 / year.  On the other hand, here is a list of what we're about to lose in Oregon and all across the US.

The Impacts of Sequestration

A press release from the US Senate Committee on Appropriations.  It has links to documents of all agencies affected.

Republicans declare victory on taxes

As the New York Times reports, Republicans are elated about the automatic cuts about to take place.  Representative Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio, said that on the whole, he thought the spending cuts were a welcome development for which Mr. Boehner deserves credit. 

Now we know who should get the credit.

Massive US Government failure

The word "Sequestration" doesn't evoke visions of widespread calamity today, but it is a disaster in the making.  This will be a worst-case outcome if it isn't reversed soon.  The Obama administration hasn't made a strong enough statement on what effects will be on the poor and disabled.

Homelessness will be more widespread than it already is as HUD's estimate is that approximately 125,000 individuals and families could lose assistance, people living on the edge of homelessness will fall over the edge.  HUD has sent letters to municipal housing authorities, telling officials to expect less funding for Section 8 rental assistance all across the country.    FHA mortgage assistance and housing will also be affected, with a wide ripple effect in the future.

Education programs will be shredded, in Oregon, Head Start preschool, full-day kindergarten and special education are all at risk, officials said.  Crater Lake, forestland firefighting, child immunizations and air traffic controllers at small airports are also likely to be affected.

Up to 766,000 - Number of health care-related jobs that could be lost or eliminated due to 2% cuts in Medicare spending under sequestration.

 The reaction from Republicans is predictable.  "I don't like the sequester. I think it's taking a meat ax to our government, a meat ax to many programs that will weaken our national defense," House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Wednesday. But, he added, "Americans do not support sacrificing real spending cuts for more tax hikes."

We'll see, Mr Boehner, we'll see.