From the Other Side of the Edge...
"Stupid is, ....as Stupid Does"
By Joe Facinoli 

The Sequester needs to happen. 

But first, ....who knew that Forrest Gump is so much smarter than Congress??   Not to mention all of the White House acolytes and hand wringers who surround this President.  And as well, the entire lapdog mainstream media, which buys all the fear mongering and doomsday scenarios, wholesale.   Who knew?  

We have come to this kind of comparison, because all previous standards for incompetence, lack of forethought, pre-elementary school methods of fact gathering and communication (that would be the highly skilled "na na na na" technique), and the inability to grasp even the most basic of economic concepts (that would be….. balancing a checkbook?), by a group of supposedly intelligent and well thought of people, have long ago been far surpassed, and were last seen crashing right through the basement floor of the Capitol building in DC. 

The real question though is:  Who isn't actually smarter than anyone in this bunch, and why are any of them still employed, anywhere !!!??? 

But back to basic arithmetic, and that pesky Sequester "thing".   

The Sequester is the brainchild of Congress and President Obama (although he now denies his participation).   They came up with this “Who’s on First” fire drill, two years ago, to threaten themselves (somebody had to) with taking a "meat cleaver" to federal spending, if they couldn't agree on significant "cuts" to the federal budget for 2013.  

Brilliant.   Anything to avoid actually setting a responsible budget (by considering both revenue and need, in that order), meeting it, and then sticking to it.  They thought they had plenty of time back then, to work all this out, while really hoping not to have to cut anything.   But, "all of a sudden", it's here.  

A lot of fretting, and nay saying, and nasty accusations and threats have gone back and forth about this, and many have predicted anything from catastrophic economic collapse, to dust bowls, and soup kitchen lines longer than in 1930, to constant 95 degree acid rain falling everywhere (there's always something like that tossed about, just for good "green earth" measure), if these awful, terrible sequestrations of funds are actually allowed to take place.   

But the truth is, no one will lose their jobs, because of these intended "cutbacks".  And maybe not at all.  Why?  Because anyone who will, or might, depending on which group of doomsdayers you tune into, should not have been employed in the first place!! 

Why?  Because all these types of jobs, and all these cuts to programs, are from the projected increases to this year's 2013 budget, and not from the existing positions and budget, previously approved and already in place.       

That's right, all of these slices to the various bloated federal departments, including Defense, are for what they asked for, or what they hoped and/or wanted to spend, not what was actually funded and released to them, to blow in any way their greedy little hearts desired. 

So, if they can’t live without what they’ve asked Santa Claus for in the future, without giving up anything they have now, then they do have to cut something, or some people, from the existing budget and employment structure.  Can’t have both, but that’s what they’re crying about, in a nutshell.   

“Daddy, you promised me, so why are you taking it away now!!???”   Nonsense.       

Let me draw a better picture.  

Your roof leaks, really bad, and you've been putting it off for a few years now.  After that monsoon season you just had last spring (whatever happened to April “showers”?), and with summer starting out the same, you had no choice anymore, as the family was suddenly a bunch of pit bulls, at your throat (what with constantly stumbling over all the assorted pots and pans sitting around everywhere, under all the drips throughout).   So you pop down to the local bank to beg for some help.  

They seem like nice enough people, ....helpful, friendly, and probably pretty honest too.   So you lay out your tale of woe, as they listen intently, before telling you on the spot that although you’re credit’s not the greatest, you’re still good for several grand’s worth of work.   Great deal, now you’ll finally get some peace and quiet, after those “dogs” shut up.      

So, you get on the phone, call several contractors, get the best deal, and get the work scheduled to start, asap.   Alright!     

But oops, did I mention that it was summer?   No sooner had you contracted the roofer, than that ancient A/C unit, the one on the side of the house, the size of a Mayflower moving van, which cools every corner of your overpriced, overbought “humble” abode, decides that it’s time to go to the great beyond.   

Now you’ve got a BIG problem.  You know that there’s only so much cash to be had from those annoying money guys (always talking about some kind of “credit rating”, whatever that is), and you also know, too well, that their little handout will never cover two projects, no matter how bad you need to do them both.  

What to do?  A leaky roof (not those pots & pans again), or, a thousand fans spread all over the house, just to bring the temp down to a cool and cozy 87 degrees?  Talk about a tough choice!! 

Well, you know you can’t tell the fam, they’ll eat you alive.   So you hatch a plan to go ahead and start both ventures, and then go down hat in hand to the bank, and grovel to them that you’re already well into the two jobs, and you’ve just got to get more cash from their bottomless vault.  They couldn’t, wouldn’t ever (would they?), say no to someone so desperate, so in need of two can’t live without house projects??  Could they????

Actually, ….they can, and would, and should almost always, say no to such a hair brained conception of a foolish plot to take on WAY more debt than one can handle.  

In reality, our friendly family hasn’t spent a dime yet, but it’s going to feel like their budget’s been cut, drastically, when told that they can only have one of those two new and needy “feel goods”, ….but not both.   Already budgeted for the roof, and feeling pretty good about being able to afford it, but now they need an A/C too.  How can they live life without either thing??  How, oh how??? 

Function over creature comfort, that’s how.  Gotta have a roof, but don’t really need an A/C.  Grandpa and grandma, and every generation before, back from Adam & Eve, got by without one, so these guys will just have to learn how.  

But do you know what they’re telling all their friends and neighbors?  That the bank screwed them out of the money that was rightfully theirs, and forced them, at “meat cleaver point” to choose between these two so necessary things that absolutely everyone else has (except for the majority of the rest of the world), so why can’t they??? 

This is called "budgeting on the come".   Or, in more pre-elementary school terms:  contracting for, and/or doing work that has not been approved, and that you don't have the money to do, and that no one has said that they were going to pay for right now, but that you just have a "good feeling" about, and are almost pretty sure that it could, possibly, be approved later.    Unfortunately, far too many have been there. 

That's why the bumper crop of foreclosures and bankruptcies in the past few years. 

This type of irresponsible financial planning and budgeting always causes troubles and heartaches, anywhere it is put into practice.   And it's why some businesses succeed, and some fail, miserably.   Marriages too, for that matter, and for the same reasons.    And governments.  

But the boys and girls down at that little Pre-K "Congressional School" (from both sides of the street), down on Capitol Hill, in ol' DC, well, they just don't think they have to play by the same rules, and they don't like those stupid rules anyway.   And besides, just who's going to tell them otherwise, and make them stop giving people a whole bunch of work to do, without having any money to pay them?? 

So, when someone tells them that they have to stop spending money that isn't in any of their bank accounts, nor 401k's, or IRA's, they just laugh, and say:  "Tell it to the hand."   Been doing that for a lot of years, and getting away with it, too.  

Until now.  

Now, is the time to let this "thing" happen, and slap everyone back into the reality that our homeowner faced, when the bank turned down the second loan.   And into the reality that every, single responsible American has to deal with, every, single day of their working lives.   And that is:   If it ain't in the bank, then you can't spend what you don't have !!!!!! 

"Stupid is,....as Stupid Does."  

 If you are stupid enough to set up, and pay out of your own pocket, for work that has not been approved, nor funded, and in this case predicted by every fear mongering political hack and media bootlicker to be far from a sure thing, then shame on you, and you alone!   This goes for government department heads, private contractors, store owners, and down to low level employees.  

Somehow, some way, we must all, at least eventually, learn to live within our means and budget.   And guess what?   "Eventually" just showed up in town, and it is not happy!    Time to pay the piper, for all our previous transgressions, and poor planning.   

For those who did plan ahead, acted responsibly towards the future of their jobs and companies and families, these folks should have no problem.  All the rest, ….good luck.   

And by the way, this massive "meat cleaver, across the board, insensitive cut" is only 8% anyway (9% for the military).   And that's only for the projected increase in budget (which Congress hasn't passed for three years, by the way), and not for what’s happening right now.  Can’t have both.  Not in this economy, and not in the real world.  Not if you don’t have real money.   

Any household can withstand that.  Not always fun (it's called "belt tightening"), but it is done every day, in millions of homes.   Why should the government be different.  

Maybe this will also be the time when the private sector steps up, to fill some of this supposed "void", with other types of businesses and job opportunities, the ones that have nothing to do with the government.   

Sounds like a "Win, Win, Win", to me.   Except for those "stupid" people among us (the ones tripping over all the pots and pans, ….and fans). 

Joe Facinoli

(You can reach Joe at:  joefacinoli@gmail.com  )

Copyright 2013, Joe Facinoli