Wildfires, workplace deaths, homelessness and more terrorism are among the risks posed by the cuts, says this breathless ABCNews report that ups the ante on CNN with its title, "57 terrible consequences of the sequester." The list draws on reports from the heads of 20 federal agencies to the Senate Appropriations committee.
Hold on a minute. In this Breakout video on Yahoo Finance, Michael Pento of Pento Portfolio Strategies says, "If you listen to some of these politicians, the Mayans were just a couple of months off, you know, the world will indeed end once we cut some spending." Echoing congressional Republicans, Pento says the cuts in the sequester represent "nothing" in a federal budget with $3.6 trillion in spending this year.
In an attempt to separate fact from fiction in the sequester debate, PolitiFact.com last week posted this analysis of a statement Tuesday by President Obama - who said the cuts will have to be made without distinguishing between "some bloated program . . . or a vital service." PolitiFact found the statement "mostly true," but said, "Obama oversimplified by glossing over the tools federal managers can use with their own discretion to make cuts."
The public, until now, hasn't been too worried, or interested, in the sequester. That could change in the days ahead as politicians rev up. The Pew Research Center released survey results last week that say almost half of the public thinks the president and Congress will, again, kick the can this week by delaying the automatic cuts, if they don't reach a deal. And, if there is no deal, 49 percent of the public will blame the Republicans.
Contact Reid Kanaley at 215-854-5114, rkanaley@phillynews.com or @ReidKan on Twitter.
