globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com / By Mike “Mish” Shedlock / Sunday, February 10, 2013 6:28 PM
Republicans don’t want military spending and Democrats don’t want cuts in social programs. The best thing to do would be doubling or tripling the cuts, but compromise tends to work in the other direction.
Thus one should not be surprised by this can-kicking idea: Republicans Propose Job Freeze to Avert Defense Cuts
Republican members of the House and Senate Armed Services committees revived a proposal to avert automatic spending cuts by reducing the federal workforce through attrition and freezing congressional salaries.
The legislation would save $85 billion through Sept. 30, the same amount as the across-the-board cuts that would be divided between defense and domestic programs, said Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire. She was among lawmakers presenting the plan at a news conference Wednesday in Washington.
The automatic cuts, called sequestration, will take effect March 1 unless Congress and President Barack Obama agree on an alternative. Tuesday, Obama urged lawmakers to propose a short-term package of reductions and tax-code changes, such as limiting tax breaks, to delay the reductions.
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