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Rename the sequester: Suggestions
Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) (C) answers reporters' questions during a news conference with (L-R) Rep. Martha Roby (R-Ala.) (obscured) and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wa.) at the Republican Party Headquarters on Capitol Hill February 13, 2013 in Washington, D.C.
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What's in a name? There's got to be a better one for the 'sequester' cuts that are set to roll out beginning March 1, if Congress doesn't act in time. Speaker of the House John Boehner is using "Obamaquester;" Marketplace listeners have their own lists going.
Names aside -- how much of an impact will the sequester have on our economy?
"The fundamentals of the economy actually look pretty good...well, they would look good if it weren't for the politicians," said Fortune magazine's Leigh Gallagher. "We were really kind of gaining a lot of momentum on this recovery -- certainly if you look at the stock market, that's a completely different story. But these budget cuts, I'll call them, are not going to be good on top of the tax increase -- the payroll tax increase had already had an impact," she said. "I think the uncertainty...that's going to impact everything."
CNBC's John Carney, though, said he believes everything will be fine. "The actual budget cuts only amount to around $44 billion; it's not a lot of money," he said. "So we can easily take it, even at the full number of $85 [billion], we could take that. Our economy is strong enough right now that it turns out that you know, maybe this whole -- I won't use the 'S' word, I'll call it 'March Madness' -- isn't such a bad idea."
Listen to the full audio above for more analysis on the sequester. The two also offered some good reading for the weekend ahead.
Leigh Gallagher's picks:
- Time Magazine's special report on health insurance: "Why medical bills are killing us"
- A NYT op-ed on better productivity (hint: relax!)
- From the wayback machine, a 1987 look at the Vatican's finances by Shawn Tully that Fortune re-ran last week
And John Carney's suggestions:
- Crunch Time: Fiscal Crises and the Role of Monetary Policy. New paper from David Greenlaw, James D. Hamilton, Peter Hooper and Fred Mishkin that argues that debt becomes a problem when it reaches 80 percent of GDP
- Here's a cheery thought: We're underestimating the chance of human extinction, via The Atlantic
- Crown jewel lock-ups (Harvard Law School Forum): A new era of M&A is seeing the return of an old and controversial form of deal protection
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Instead of the fear mongering terms being bandied about, I'd call it like it really is, a "minor reduction in planned budgetary increases". Nah, that's not cute, catchy, or alarming enough to get the masses to worry of supposed impending dire consequences and pacify them for the political "kick the can down the road" that is inevitable.
Of course it has to be Congrestration. The obstructionist in Congress have no logical defense for not reinstating some of the illogical tax cuts made during the Bush administration. Boehner has no real solutions he is just parroting the "gang of NO" currently controlling his party. All they can come up with are silly, childish names like Obamacare. That really swayed the voters.
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