Anti-austerity hysteria

GovSpending1Reason.com nails the story as sequestration is back on the agenda with abundant anti-austerity hysteria.  They note; Politico, is quasi-blaming the Navy Yard shooting on cuts,  the president of MIT says sequestration is “choking the innovation economy,” The Center for American Progress frets that “austerity kills” and even the FBI is threatening a 10-day shutdown.

The beloved leader is quoted whining that cuts “have cost jobs, harmed growth, are hurting our military readiness. And top independent economists say this has been a big drag on our recovery this year. Our economy is not growing as fast as it should and we’re not creating as many jobs as we should, because the sequester is in place. That’s not my opinion. That’s the opinion of independent economists,” President Obama said with authority.

ReasonMag1But has sequestration forced government to grind to a halt?” Reason.com asks and the provides a “snapshot of what the feds have been up to over the last few months since the cuts kicked in – a listing of the 17,679 entries published in the Federal Register since sequestration took effect on March 1, 2013. The Federal Register doesn’t capture everything the government has done, of course. But it gives an idea of what this austere, cut-to-the-bone budget has left intact.

Click here for Reason.com with links for details about each announcement.  You may also download a listing in an Excel file and comment on your favorite.