Thanks, guys.
While Republicans
set the stage for a
deeply unpopular government shutdown, let's not forget the suffering already being caused by one
leftover from past Republican hostage-taking and refusal to raise taxes on the wealthy even the weensiest bit. There may be nothing to compare with
canceled White House tours as far as congressional Republicans or the
media are concerned, but sequestration is
hurting a lot of people around the country:
- In Jackson County, Michigan, seniors will lose help with chores, lawn care, and snow removal, and will have to pay to use an emergency lifeline service.
- Across the country, cities are cutting the number of rental vouchers they can offer to help families afford to have a place to live. In Los Angeles, for instance, where there are 65,000 names on the waiting list, 1,000 new vouchers won't be distributed and another 1,800 households are in danger of losing existing vouchers.
- Head Start programs have had to cut 57,000 kids and lay off or cut pay for 18,000 workers. Some have shortened the school year.
- Scientific research and volcano monitoring are taking a hit.
- The federal justice system is being devastated.
- American Indian mental health programs and more are being cut.
And let's not forget the 1.6 million jobs the Congressional Budget Office says could be killed by keeping sequestration in place through 2014. Except that forgetting all that is exactly what Republicans are trying to get us to do, by slapping a new set of fiscal traumas on top of it.