EDMOND —
We’ve been sequestered. In the summer of 2011, the U.S. government was on the verge of defaulting on its debt for the first time in its history — an occurrence that would have been catastrophic for the economy. Yet, President Obama and congressional Republicans were in a stalemate. On one side, Republican leaders were insisting that any deal to raise the debt limit must be accompanied by significant government spending cuts. On the other side, President Obama wanted to avoid deep cuts to key government programs.
While the brinksmanship between the two sides led to a first-ever downgrade of the U.S. debt, a deal was reached — the debt ceiling would be raised (thus averting a default), but both sides would commit to significant deficit reduction during the next 18 months. To maintain the pressure on both sides to continue negotiating, a slate of $1.2 trillion spending cuts over the next 10 years would automatically go into place if a new deficit reduction deal was not reached. Technically, the U.S. Treasury would hold back, or sequester the funds, from government agencies. These cuts were slated to go into effect on Jan. 1. However, as a part of the fiscal cliff deal at the beginning of the year (if you think that there have been too many manufactured fiscal crises then you are not alone), these automatic cuts were postponed until March 1 — this last Friday.
The sequester is now here.
On Friday, President Obama signed an order informing all agencies that during the next seven months the U.S. Treasury will reduce federal discretionary spending by $85 billion for the remainder of this fiscal year (the cuts rise to $109 billion per year starting in October). Since the sequester language specified that all discretionary programs would be cut across-the-board, one-half of the spending cuts will be absorbed by the military — $43 billion this year and $55 billion each year for the next decade.
In the end, it is clear that the president miscalculated. He must have assumed that congressional Republicans would be willing to work with him to avoid deep cuts to military spending. But as the months wore on, it became increasingly clear that congressional Republicans were no longer willing to make any more deals with the president.
The impact of the spending cuts won’t be felt by everyone immediately, but some will soon notice significant pain. For example, Oklahoma’s civilian federal employees — including those working at our military bases supporting our armed forces — face eventual furloughs over the next few months. Unfortunately, those workers who live day-to-day, week-to-week and paycheck-to-paycheck, a cut in pay could mean losing their home, visiting the doctor less often and even bankruptcy. For others, it certainly means they will spend less.
If one examines the impact on the families of our nation’s federal employees, the sequester cuts will cause significant pain, hardship and angst. If one examines the impact on the nation’s economy, the sequester will further slow the rate of job creation and economic growth. Consequently, with every economic report we receive now we will know that it would have been stronger had Congress been willing to act.
In short, this isn’t just a theoretical game, this has real impact. This isn’t just a political game, this is hurting real families. And it wouldn’t be happening if Republicans in Congress had been willing to work with the president.
There was a time when we expected our leaders to lead, and not just give up. There was a time when we expected our leaders to solve problems, not cause them. There was a time when we expected our leaders to fight for our families, and not just turn their backs on them.
Apparently, those days are gone.
MICKEY HEPNER is the dean of the College of Business Administration at the University of Central Oklahoma. Hepner serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors for The Oklahoma Academy.
Opinion
BY THE NUMBERS: Leadership fails Americans in sequester situation
- Opinion
-
-
Witnesses missing; Behenna case could be heard at Supreme Court
The film “Breaker Morant” was nominated for an Oscar for the best screenplay in 1980. It told the story of Harry “Breaker” Morant, an Australian who served in the British Army and was court-martialed for alleged war crimes during the Boer War in Southern Africa in the early years of the last century.
That conflict pitted the British Army against the descendants of the Dutch settlers who had migrated to what is now South Africa in the 17th and 18th centuries. The majority of them were farmers and in their language of Afrikaans were known as “Boers.” -
Don’t leave Oklahoma!
May is graduation season. As I have done every year as lieutenant governor, I have given multiple commencement speeches. Advice flows freely during this time and it usually runs the gamut. What to do, what not to do, how to do ‘x’, be sure not to do ‘y.’ Too often commencement speakers speak in big generalities. So general, the message is frequently lost or forgotten.
-
Last-minute funding proposals not in state’s best interest
All indications point to this being the last week of this year’s legislative session. The Legislature will go home a week early. This is good news for Oklahomans as not only will there be cost savings but all Oklahomans should breathe a sigh of relief when the Legislature stops making new laws a week ahead of schedule.
As usual, the Legislature will take a number of important votes during the last week. Some will be forced due to attempts to introduce and pass far-reaching, new policies that should have been introduced much earlier in the year. -
BY THE NUMBERS: Oklahoma still needs to invest in its economy
After six months of stagnation, the Oklahoma economy finally appears to be expanding again albeit still weakly. Unfortunately, our leaders aren’t making the investments we need to give our economic prospects a boost.
Last week the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services reported that in April state General Revenue fund collections were 5.2 percent above the estimate and 14.7 percent higher than last year’s collections. Under normal circumstances, such a report would indicate that the Oklahoma economy was very strong. But this isn’t a normal circumstance, and April isn’t a normal month. -
Americans deserve the truth on Benghazi
Lately, the media has been consumed by the controversies surrounding the White House. Among these controversies is the horrific terrorist attack on the United States’ diplomatic compound in Benghazi that took place Sept. 11, 2012. As more people come forward with additional information regarding the attack on the consulate, many Americans, including myself, are still asking for the truth.
The Obama Administration and the State Department have been less than forthcoming with key information on Benghazi and recent information points toward a major cover-up. -
Seizure of AP phone records insult to independent press
Distrust of government secrecy has been elevated to an exceptional level with the disclosure the Justice Department covertly examined two months of Associated Press phone records to determine who leaked details to the AP about a foiled terrorist plot.
-
HEY HINK: Some people just are not cut out for command
Recent headlines cause me to remember an incident that occurred on an army base some years ago. Warning here: I’m taking some liberties with names and details, but the basic outline of events is accurate.
A certain company commander, let’s call him Captain Duntz, had command of a motor pool on a large army base in the continental U.S. -
We’ve become our own worst enemies
The past couple months have been marked by a seeming unprecedented number of man-made tragedies, as distinct from those caused by violent outbursts of the natural world, such as earthquakes, hurricanes and tsunamis.
You don’t want to dwell too long on the negative, but we do have to take notice of horrific human events and we owe it to ourselves to respond to them in some way. We don’t always agree on those responses, however, and that usually exacerbates the problem. -
Let’s reimburse higher ed for remediation costs
The good news: Oklahoma schools are teaching phonics. The bad news: It’s in college.
Students at Tulsa Community College, for example, can take a college English course called “Spelling and Phonics,” which “helps students master basic spelling literacy, principles of phonics and decoding skills.”
This sort of higher education brings to mind former Boston University president John Silber’s quip: “Higher than what?” -
AGAINST THE GRAIN: Department of Commerce highlights Main Street successes
The 24th annual Oklahoma Main Street Awards Banquet was at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum last week. Oklahoma Department of Commerce Secretary Dave Lopez addressed the gathering, and spoke of how the Commerce Department works with Main Street organizations throughout the state that are working to improve their downtown areas. Lopez pointed out that the partnership between his department and those local organizations has brought new life to those communities and that the attendees would see some of that revitalization in a video presentation. Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin also addressed the gathering, and said the Main Street program has resulted in more than $1 billion in investments in the state and more than 1 million volunteer hours in its 24 years of operation.
- More Opinion Headlines
-
Witnesses missing; Behenna case could be heard at Supreme Court
