With $85 billion in budget cuts set to take effect Friday, when the sequester kicks in, there's been plenty of debate about whether the economy will spiral back into a recession. In search of some clarity, The New Republic asked economists from across the political spectrum a simple question, "Will the sequester start another recession?" The answers were a bit more complicated.
an even simpler question, what makes more sense for a place called United States, to allow the poor, elderly, and sick go down the tubes to keep Exxon getting unwarranted welfare and tax on jets and other loopholes to stand leaving revenu raising to be done where it can least be afforded?
It could. And either way, it's dumb policy.
"My reaction is possibly, but improbably. That said, it's pushing policy in exactly the wrong direction. At a time when the economy still needs a stimulus to promote recovery rather than restrictive policies to prevent overheating. I think job one economically today is to restore full employment, that is today's problem. Tomorrow's problem will be to deal with long term budget imbalances, but trying to curb long term budget imbalances now carries the high probability of delaying economic recovery and the possibility of turning recovery into decline and, were that to happen, it would be a major misfortune for the nation." — Henry Aaron, senior fellow of economic studies at the Brookings Institution
A recession's not likely, but growth will be slow.
"If the sequester takes effect and stays in effect for the year I suspect it will lower real GDP growth by .5 percent points and lead to the loss of between 500,000 and 700,000 jobs. No, I don't think it will lead to a recession, I just think it will lead to slower growth than would otherwise be." — Jared Bernstein, Senior Fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Really slow.
you notice a theme here, slowing the economy has that not been the plan that republicans have been working since Nov. 6th 2008?
And it will shatter our confidence."I certainly wouldn't expect the sequester to cause a recession—it's not big enough. A reasonable guess is that it takes about 0.6 of a percentage point off the 2013 growth rate. That's based on the amount of spending that would be cut, and a 'multiplier' around one. Now, when the economy is struggling to make 2 percent growth, losing about 0.6 percent is hardly welcome. But it's not a recession. The possible downside, and the hardest part to figure out, is how badly the sequester will dent confidence—creating the feeling that our government is losing its mind—and what that might do to spending. I've estimated that as negligible—and I hope that's right!" — Alan Blinder, professor of economics and public affairs at Princeton University
again does this not play into the end game for republicans to get us so discouraged with the Pres. that we will flock to them to be saved, isn't that Charles Manson's manifesto "helter skelter"? Beatles song, isn't that what they say hip hop gangsta rap influences violence, wow.
