WASHINGTON — Army operations andmaintenance would lose nearly $7 billion next year, and the Navy more than $4 billion under a looming series of automatic cuts in federal spending. Educational achievement and special-education programs would be shaved by $2.3 billion. Medicare payments to hospitals would fall by $5.6 billion.
And, particularly relevant at a moment when worldattention is focused on the continuing attacks on United States embassies and consulates abroad, diplomatic programs and embassy security would lose $1.2 billion.
These are among thefindings in a new 394-page report by the White House that was delivered Friday to Congress, detailing line by line what will happen next year if Washington fails to act to head off about$100 billion in military and domestic spending cuts scheduled to begin Jan. 2. The Obama administration had been reluctant to specify the impact ofsequestration, as theautomatic, across-the-board spending reduction is called. But once forced to do so by Congress, the White House budget office did notscrimp on the details.
“As the administration has made clear, no amount of planning can mitigate the effect of these cuts,” the report states. “Sequestration is a blunt and indiscriminate instrument. It is not the responsible way for our nation to achieve deficit reduction.”
The Budget Control Act of July 2011 established automatic cuts as the bludgeon that was supposed to force a special bipartisan committee to reach an agreement on deficit reduction of at least $1 trillion over the next decade. The committee failed , with Republicans refusing to meet Democrats’ demandsto raise taxes in exchange for cuts to domestic programs and entitlements like Social Security and Medicare .
Lawmakers still hopethat Congress and the White House can come up with a way to avoid the cuts, but nothing will happen before the November elections, whose outcome will have some effect on what any future agreement would look like.
For now, the two parties remain at odds, with each seeking to blame theother for the automatic cuts about to come.
Under the terms of those cuts, most military programs face a 9.4 percent reduction, while most domestic programs would be sliced by 8.2 percent.Medicare would be trimmed by 2 percent, while other social programs — excluding Social Security — would besliced by as much as 10 percent.
White House officialssaid cuts to Medicarewould fall on health care providers, not beneficiaries. But the impact on healthcare professionals could affect the elderly if deep cuts prompt doctors and hospitals to shun Medicare patients. Total payments to hospitals through Medicare would be cut by more than$5.8 billion next year, while prescription drug benefits would be trimmed by $591 million.
The White House report details how$108 billion in cuts would be meted out next year, the start of what would be a decade’s worth of cuts on that scale.
Congressional Republicans were the first to demand adetailed accounting this summer, focusing on the planned Pentagon cuts. The White House resisted. ThenDemocrats joined in, pushing to see the impact on domestic programs as well and ultimately passing legislation almost unanimously demanding a written report.
A senior administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, acknowledged the White House reluctance on Friday.The reason, he said, was the fear that “lots of energy and time would go to reporting and planning as opposedto avoiding the sequester.”
As late as Friday, Congressional aides were skeptical that the White House would produce the details lawmakers had wanted. And theWhite House did not get to the level of precision sought by some lawmakers, down to the effect on individual weapons programs or military bases.
But the report does detail the potential toll on more than 1,200 agencies and programs, like the $4million the Library ofCongress stands to lose for its books for the blind and handicapped.
The first items on the ledger are cuts to the legislative branch. Inquiries and investigations, amainstay of the Republican House, would lose $11 million. Salaries and expenses in the House of Representatives would drop by $101 million. However, under the terms of the budget law, salaries for lawmakers would beexempt.
“Hopefully this will move the Republicans toward compromise,” said another administration official, who briefed reporters under the condition, set by the White House, that henot be identified.
“But without compromise, the report gives us a window into what our future might be like.”
Big cuts would hit the military. DefenseDepartment operations and maintenance would lose $3.9 billion next year alone. Air Force and Navy aircraft procurement would be sliced by more than $4.2 billion. Andmoney to strengthenAfghanistan’s security force the year before the United States plans to withdraw its own forces would fall by$1.3 billion.
Pain would be spread widely. The National Institutes of Health would lose$2.5 billion. Rental assistance for the poor would fall by$2.3 billion; nutritionprograms for women, infants and children would lose$543 million.
Domestic priorities more associated with Republicans would also take a hit. The Customs andBorder Patrol budgetwould fall by $823 million, and the budget for the border fence would drop $33 million.
Under the terms of last year’s budget act, veterans programs were exempted from the cuts. Mr. Obama usedthe latitude granted by the law to also shield military personnel. But that would only deepen the remaining military cuts.
Chances that the report would move the parties to the negotiating table before the election seemed remote, judging from the reaction on Friday.
“It’s the American people who will pay the price for Republican intransigence,” said Representative Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland.
“It is time for the president and Senate Democrats tofollow the example of the House and present a plan to remedy these unbalanced and dangerous defense cuts,” said Senator Jeff Sessions, Republican of Alabama.

Neva Happen

going off the cliff....only way Repubs with the tea potters
will learn.

So, what will be the effect of an ever-increasing national debt in the USA?

Devaluation of the Dollar.

The debt holders will eventually get fleeced unless the debt level is
kept under control. Those investing in the US are betting that we will
be able to manage our debt and economically grow our way out of it.

Historically, what has happened to other countries who could not control their debt is hyper-inflation. There is a high probability of massive loss of government services.