Were less than 48 hours away from massive forced government budget cuts. That's the government sequestration you may be hearing about.
The cuts would equal more than one trillion dollars over ten years. And it is believed that everyone will feel the pain one way or another.
Whose to blame for this depends on who you ask.
How did we get to sequestration?
"Air traffic controllers and airport security will see cutbacks," has stated President Obama.
"It's time for the President and Senate Democrats do their job," urged Speaker of the House John Boehner.
In the summer of 2011, the federal government was nearing its legal debt limit. When push came to shove, Congress and President Obama agreed to increase the debt ceiling, or borrow more money.
President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner burned up the midnight oil trying to reach an agreement. But the 'grand bargain.' fell apart. Blame fell on Boehner and Obama for the colossal meltdown.
From the ashes rose the Budget Control Act, a bipartisan super committee that was created to develop a spending blueprint. The goal, to trim the deficit by $1.2 trillion over a decade and order Congress to identify an equal amount of cuts. The super committee failed.
With Congress having nothing to vote on and no more solutions in hand, we started marching toward the unthinkable, sequestration. $1.2 trillion dollars over the next decade, with half coming from the military.
Congress and the president bickered for more than a year trying to reach spending agreements.
Whose to blame, Congress? The Democrats? Republicans? Or the President?
Senator Rand Paul says Obama's fingerprints are all over sequester.
"For goodness sakes, it was his proposal,” exclaimed Paul. “He proposed the sequester. It was his idea, he signed it into law, and now he's going to tell us that, oh, it's our fault?”
The White House sees it differently.
"Republicans, thus far, have refused to do this, they've refused to go along with the American public on the simple notion that balance is the right approach to dealing with the problem,” explained White House Spokesman Jay Carney. “And it's important to understand if they hold that position and the sequester goes into effect, it will go effect and those Americans will lose their jobs because Republicans made a choice for that to happen."
Without a last minute deal, sequestration will arrive on Friday.
Thursday we will size up the rhetoric behind sequestration.
The cuts would equal more than one trillion dollars over ten years. And it is believed that everyone will feel the pain one way or another.
Whose to blame for this depends on who you ask.
How did we get to sequestration?
"Air traffic controllers and airport security will see cutbacks," has stated President Obama.
"It's time for the President and Senate Democrats do their job," urged Speaker of the House John Boehner.
In the summer of 2011, the federal government was nearing its legal debt limit. When push came to shove, Congress and President Obama agreed to increase the debt ceiling, or borrow more money.
President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner burned up the midnight oil trying to reach an agreement. But the 'grand bargain.' fell apart. Blame fell on Boehner and Obama for the colossal meltdown.
From the ashes rose the Budget Control Act, a bipartisan super committee that was created to develop a spending blueprint. The goal, to trim the deficit by $1.2 trillion over a decade and order Congress to identify an equal amount of cuts. The super committee failed.
With Congress having nothing to vote on and no more solutions in hand, we started marching toward the unthinkable, sequestration. $1.2 trillion dollars over the next decade, with half coming from the military.
Congress and the president bickered for more than a year trying to reach spending agreements.
Whose to blame, Congress? The Democrats? Republicans? Or the President?
Senator Rand Paul says Obama's fingerprints are all over sequester.
"For goodness sakes, it was his proposal,” exclaimed Paul. “He proposed the sequester. It was his idea, he signed it into law, and now he's going to tell us that, oh, it's our fault?”
The White House sees it differently.
"Republicans, thus far, have refused to do this, they've refused to go along with the American public on the simple notion that balance is the right approach to dealing with the problem,” explained White House Spokesman Jay Carney. “And it's important to understand if they hold that position and the sequester goes into effect, it will go effect and those Americans will lose their jobs because Republicans made a choice for that to happen."
Without a last minute deal, sequestration will arrive on Friday.
Thursday we will size up the rhetoric behind sequestration.