Defence Cuts - The Enemy Within

Ships lie uselessly at anchor and lay-offs loom as deep Congress-imposed spending cuts look ever more likely to go ahead

economist.com - February 23, 2013

“HOW can Congress go on a recess with the country in the shape it’s in?” asks a constituent of Bobby Scott, a Democratic congressman for the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, to applause and cries of “Amen!” The angry voter is referring to the “sequester”, an unpopular slate of cuts to the federal budget due to take effect on March 1st unless Congress intervenes. The cuts, as Mr Scott explains, were intended to be so painful that lawmakers would feel obliged to come up with some sort of substitute.

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