Spending cuts: Congress risks another crisis

079 Capitol Hill United States Congress 1993 (Photo credit: davehighbury)

Lawmakers, in an effort to force themselves to be fiscally responsible, put in place a destructive series of spending cuts that they always expected to  replace. Except they haven’t. NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — It’s mindless, confusing and costly. It will likely result in private-sector and government job loss. It will hurt the economy. And Congress can’t agree on how to replace it. Master Bisnis Indonesia Master Berita Bisnis terbaru hari ini

That’s where things stand with the “sequester” — a series of automatic federal spending cuts equally divided between defense and non-defense programs. The cuts, set to take effect in January, start with a $109 billion reduction in 2013 and total $1.2 trillion over a decade, including interest savings. Analysts, economists and industry executives have repeatedly highlighted the many problemsassociated with reducing deficits in such a ham-fisted way. Now the cries for help are getting louder. “Disruptive, chaotic … lunatic,” said Steve Bell, senior director of economic policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center and former staff director at the Senate Budget Committee. The idea of imposing automatic spending cuts grew out of the 11th-hour deal Congress and President Obama struck last summer to resolve the debt ceiling crisis. In other words, policymakers got out of one self-made mess by crafting a plan that is triggering another.... Continue to read.

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