Barack Obama is a master politician!

President Barack Obama wants to shock Congress into not implementing sequestration.  To motivate Congress he has directed cut backs in employment of workers and critical military support just to get your attention.

Federal spending for both 2012 and 2013 is planned at $3.8 Trillion for each year.  Ten percent of that number is $380 Billion.  The Budget Control Act (called sequestration) of 2011 imposed caps on discretionary programs that will reduce their funding by more than $1 trillion over the ten years from 2012 through 2021.  That does not mean $1 trillion in 2013.  It means one tenth of that amount each year or $100 Billion a year.

Somehow Congress decided the first year’s reduction must be $109.3 Billion.  That works out to 2.8763% of $3.8 Trillion budget.  Is this a big deal?  NO.  However to make it a big deal the administration has decided to do as much damage as possible by layoffs and furloughs that will make everyone in Congress feel guilty.  This is all in the hope that Congress will enact laws that will defer the cuts to some date in the distant future.

When hundreds of thousands of people receive their reduced paychecks in March, thanks to a four day work week, the anguished crying heard at congressional offices will receive immediate attention. Congress will cave into the Obama idea of finding another way to reduce spending.  Then again perhaps his objective is no reduced spending.  Either way he is likely to get his way.