Economy The Daily Banter

The Sequestration Fight Is Based on Lies and Stupidity

My Tuesday column:

As a political writer, being pissed off about certain issues and policies is like rocket fuel. I’m not an angry guy by nature, but there’s a universe of things in politics that piss me off and, combined with an involuntary need to seek and disseminate the truth, I’m never really at a loss for topics to cover.

But the sequestration issue has been one of those rare items that frustrate me to the point of being incapable of spending time on it. When I read about sequestration, my brain seizes. The stupidity of it all simply confounds me to the point of being speechless. For me, this is a shocking and rare predicament.

It’s not even the chronic brinksmanship — the reoccurring doomsday countdowns and the Republican-manifested economic sabotage that’s behind it all. It’s not the Keynesian in me who opposes the very notion of deficit reduction during a sluggish recovery. Granted, these are both points of irritation, but the characteristic of the sequester that ought to force us all into complete apoplexy and subsequent outrage-induced catatonia is the epidemic of ignorance regarding the status of the federal budget deficit.

There are two sides to this deficit idiocy. Firstly… [continue reading here]

Another travel day today so sporadic postings, etc…