“The media are bombarding us with stories of how sequestration, with its ‘drastic cuts’ in government spending, will affect our lives. Marketplace ran one yesterday about the USDA and the potential loss of federal meat inspectors. Don’t worry, we were told, the authorities won’t allow tainted meat on the shelves! But they might inspect more slowly, meaning less meat for sale, and higher prices. I spent 5 minutes on the CBO website and discovered that what’s in play is $27 billion of projected ‘discretionary’ spending. The sequester cuts that by 8% to about $24 billion. So the sequestered 2013 budget is $152 billion, a 4.8% increase over 2012.”
