America's Sequestration Palaver
Published: 27 February 2013 By Abiodun Giwa
America's White House and the Congress have three days to decide whether to embark on a deep spending cuts called SEQUESTRATION. Or find some other ways to cut spending totaling $85 billion. But President Barack Obama is against excessive cuts, and he wants the Congress to avoid it.
The drama began on Tuesday, as usual with matters that have political implications between the politicians and the people.
The country was agog with the news of the president's journey to Newport, Virginia, in a campaign mode, where he told workers in a ship building yard the effect sequestration will have on the industry and other vital areas of American lives.
The Republican Party is encouraging the cuts while the Democratic Party along with the president is against, based on what individual party members across the country have told the press.
"There is no smart way to do that. Do I close funds for disabled kids? Do I close funds for this Navy shipyard or another one?" the president was reported to have told a gathering of hardhat wearing workers at the shipyard.
On the other hand, Speaker John Boehner said that the president was using the soldiers as props rather than face the reality on what needs to be done.
As part of the sequestration palaver, some illegal immigrants in the Homeland Security's detention were said to have been released, because the department said there would be no money to cater for the detainees if the sequestration takes off on Friday. The Democrats are supporting the release of the detainees, while the Republicans mostly from Arizona are crying foul over the issue.
The Democrats are saying if the cuts are allowed to go into effect on Friday, it will have negative effect on all aspects of American lives. It will cause delay up to 90 minutes at the airport for travelers who will have to wait so long to be processed; will cause thousands of unemployment, the Pentagon also says the cuts not good and the president says the country cannot cut its way to prosperity.
The sequestration debate and the disagreement it is causing between the two parties over the debt ceiling and the country's ballooning deficit has become a recurring theme in the polity. Last December, it was an issue that was hotly contested but a solution was found at the last minutes that postponed cuts seen as evil to be avoided by some politicians and necessary evil by some others. In between, there are others who feel that the country must find a solution to its deficit problem and not continuously raise the debt ceiling to spend money not earned.
The 1 March 2013 date that will decide what direction the country takes over its deficit and the need for spending cuts is two days away.
The drama began on Tuesday, as usual with matters that have political implications between the politicians and the people.
The country was agog with the news of the president's journey to Newport, Virginia, in a campaign mode, where he told workers in a ship building yard the effect sequestration will have on the industry and other vital areas of American lives.
The Republican Party is encouraging the cuts while the Democratic Party along with the president is against, based on what individual party members across the country have told the press.
"There is no smart way to do that. Do I close funds for disabled kids? Do I close funds for this Navy shipyard or another one?" the president was reported to have told a gathering of hardhat wearing workers at the shipyard.
On the other hand, Speaker John Boehner said that the president was using the soldiers as props rather than face the reality on what needs to be done.
As part of the sequestration palaver, some illegal immigrants in the Homeland Security's detention were said to have been released, because the department said there would be no money to cater for the detainees if the sequestration takes off on Friday. The Democrats are supporting the release of the detainees, while the Republicans mostly from Arizona are crying foul over the issue.
The Democrats are saying if the cuts are allowed to go into effect on Friday, it will have negative effect on all aspects of American lives. It will cause delay up to 90 minutes at the airport for travelers who will have to wait so long to be processed; will cause thousands of unemployment, the Pentagon also says the cuts not good and the president says the country cannot cut its way to prosperity.
The sequestration debate and the disagreement it is causing between the two parties over the debt ceiling and the country's ballooning deficit has become a recurring theme in the polity. Last December, it was an issue that was hotly contested but a solution was found at the last minutes that postponed cuts seen as evil to be avoided by some politicians and necessary evil by some others. In between, there are others who feel that the country must find a solution to its deficit problem and not continuously raise the debt ceiling to spend money not earned.
The 1 March 2013 date that will decide what direction the country takes over its deficit and the need for spending cuts is two days away.
