THE SKY IS FALLING, THE SKY IS FALLING

Wasn’t it Chicken Little who ran around screaming “The sky is falling, the sky is falling?” Or was that Obama? I am referring to the most recent crisis de jour coming out of the White House, the sequester.

We have been treated to a litany of dire predictions preceding the sequester. We would have to close down our airports, thousands of teachers would have to be laid off, and we would have to empty our jails because we could not support the prisoners. They have already started releasing imprisoned illegal aliens. They intend to release 5000 over a one month period. National parks would have to close. Etc., etc. Blah, blah, blah.

Well, of course, the problems as described by the President were all lies. Why should we be surprised by that? We have been lied to for several years by this administration. Since those lies didn’t work to cause Congress to act to prevent the sequester, plan B now goes into effect. That is to blame the Republicans in Congress for the cuts caused by this sequester. Never mind that this time the sequester was Obama’s idea in the first place or that he is on record saying that if the Congress tried in any way to change it, he would veto that effort. All of which has been reported by big time liberal reporter Bob Woodward, the author of Nixon’s downfall, who incidentally has been threatened by the White House for reporting these facts.

What is really going on here? I think Obama never believed it would come to this. He thought Congress would step in and stop the automatic cuts. Really, he never wanted to cut anything. He just wants to spend and unless Congress approves tax increases, that cannot happen. President Chicken Little can scream all he wants but it is the Congress that has the power to raise taxes.

Let us understand what the sequester is all about. This act requires government agencies to reduce their budgetary expectation by 2.4%. They are not expected to cut their existing budget, just to reduce their increase by a mere 2.4%. All of the fear mongering about this issue is just moronic silliness.

Congressional Republicans should embrace these cuts, not run from them. This could be the start of some real reduction in the runaway spending in Washington. Obama seems to think if he can blame someone else, the Republicans in Congress, for these minor cuts, he might be able to retake the House in the next election. He should instead take a look at the most recent poll which says 83% of those polled believe Washington has a spending problem, not a revenue problem. This could easily be a winning position for Republicans.

There is a clear reality. This country cannot continue to spend the way it has in the past. It is just not sustainable. The Congress should now take advantage of the puny start this act has given them and get busy and show a little backbone. Today it is pennies. Tomorrow it could be true cuts and real savings.

I have decided not to be guided for future decisions by what politicians say. I choose not to believe this President because he has a history of lies that cannot be denied. Let’s face it, he and the other politicians have all earned our skepticism. No, my future decisions will all based on what the financial markets have to say. If the stock market likes it, I like it.

Today the stock market is saying the sky's not falling. We need these cuts. We need the sequester. We just hit a new all time high on the Dow Jones Average. Now that’s a message I can believe.

Ron Scarbro