$300 Million for Detroit: Arbitrary Sequestration Continues

It seems that there is some $300 million in the federal budget for the bankrupt city of Detroit, despite what Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said. But there are no funds to conduct White House tours. Or to continue National Park services.

By cutting out White House tours, the Secret Service is saving $18,000 per week. If the money for Detroit was spent instead on tours, there would be 16,666 weeks, 320.5 years of tours that could be restored. The National Park Service endured $153.4 million in budget cuts due to sequestration, just over half what is being given to Detroit. As a result, government officials worry that these cuts will hurt towns and cities across the country, since the park system generates $30 billion in economic activity and supports 252,000 jobs.

And half of the cuts mandated by sequestration will fall upon the defense of this nation. According to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta (an Obama appointee), sequestration cuts will mean:

• The smallest ground force since before World War II
• The smallest Navy since before World War I
• The smallest tactical fighter force in the history of the Air Force
• Termination of the Joint Strike Fighter and next generation bomber
• Delay of the next generation ballistic missile submarine, as well as cuts to our existing sub fleet
• Cancellation of the littoral combat ship
• Elimination of all modernization of ground combat vehicles and Army helicopters
• Undermine our ability to meet our national security objectives
• Generate significant operational risks and delay response time to crises, conflicts, and disasters
• Severely limit our ability to be forward deployed
• Severely reduce force training and threaten overall operational readiness
• and, most importantly, undermine our ability to meet our national security objectives

What was Dear Leader Barack Hussein Obama’s response to sequestration that he proposed? He called it dumb and arbitrary, and blamed Republicans.

Perusing the OMB “Preliminary Estimates of Sequestrable and Exempt Budgetary Resources and Reduction in Sequestrable Budgetary Resources by OMB Account – FY 2013” shows that Obama’s favorite programs, such as childhood nutrition, student aid, unemployment assistance, and renewable energy, have been largely (and arbitrarily) exempted from sequester cuts.

Obama was correct – sequestration is arbitrary. What does and doesn’t get sequestered is entirely and arbitrarily up to him. It’s interesting to note that ALL Detroit mayors since 1962 have been Democrats. It now appears as if Detroit is one of his favorite programs.

Nancy Pelosi, a political hack if ever there was one, assured us this past weekend that “The cupboard is bare. There’s no more cuts to make.” Well Nancy, I hope you are embarrassed because $300 million was “found” that could have been cut.

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