Dear Editor:
This morning I finally heard a "talking head" on TV tell a little of the truth about sequestration. There are no cuts involved with sequestration, sequestration only slows the growth of federal spending.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, if sequestration is allowed to run its course federal spending will still increase from $3.5 trillion in 2012 to $5.9 trillion in 2023. Don't forget, Obama is already spending a trillion dollars a year more than Bush and twice what was spent under Clinton. Even with the sequestration cuts the national debt will rise from its current level of $16.5 trillion to $20 trillion in 2023. Â
For perspective, when Clinton took office in 1993 the national debt was $4 trillion, when Bush took office in 2001 it was $5.6 trillion, when Obama took office in 2009 it was $10 trillion, it is currently $16.5 trillion. Under Clinton the debt increased $1.6 trillion, under Bush it increased $6.1 trillion, under Obama, in less than five years, it has increased $6.5 trillion.
A couple of points worthy of mention. Even though government receipts/income increased during the Bush presidency, he increased the national debt by $4.5 trillion more than Clinton. Only $1.6 trillion of the increase was for national defense. When Clinton left office national defense spending was $393 billion (in 2012 dollars) or 20.7 percent of total spending. It is currently over $700 billion, 18.5 percent of total spending. In 2007 we had over 170,000 troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. By the end of this summer the troops will be home. We are being asked to believe that a $42 billion cut in defense spending is going to cripple the military.Â
Rather than getting by with only spending a trillion a year more than Bush, the politicians and bureaucrats in D.C. just have to have more of our money to support their fiefdoms. Face it, they see us as serfs and themselves as our benevolent masters. In their views "We the People" are just not capable of deciding how best to spend the money we have earned. In their view we are to stingy to assist with the care of those around us who are in need. With few exceptions those in D.C. regularly show their contempt for the law abiding, hard working citizens of this nation.
You can read the CBO's report at http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43907Â