What May Be Good About the Sequester

The Sunday morning talk shows this week were full of hand wringing about the sequester. Depending on who you listen to, it’s either dumb or stupid. Everyone seems to agree there has to be a better way. So could there be anything good about it? Maybe. As a diagnostic exercise, the sequester could turn out to be a stroke of genius.

Let me give an analogy. When my horse comes up lame, the vet has a problem. She can’t just ask the horse, “Where does it hurt?” Instead, she starts pinching up and down his leg until he flinches. She doesn’t want to hurt him, but it’s the only way to find out where the sore spot is.

The sequester is like that. Everyone agrees that there are sore spots in the budget, but not exactly where they are. Everyone is against waste, fraud, and abuse, but no elected politician dares come up with a list of what should go and what should stay. Why not perform an economic experiment: Pinch everything 10 percent, then see which pinches cause a flinch, and which do not? >>>Read more

The Sunday morning talk shows this week were full of hand wringing about the sequester. Depending on who you listen to, it’s either dumb or stupid. Everyone seems to agree there has to be a better way. So could there be anything good about it? Maybe. As a diagnostic exercise, the sequester could turn out to be a stroke of genius.
Let me give an analogy. When my horse comes up lame, the vet has a problem. She can’t just ask the horse, “Where does it hurt?” Instead, she starts pinching up and down his leg until he flinches. She doesn’t want to hurt him, but it’s the only way to find out where the sore spot is.
The sequester is like that. Everyone agrees that there are sore spots in the budget, but not exactly where they are. Everyone is against waste, fraud, and abuse, but no elected politician dares come up with a list of what should go and what should stay. Why not perform an economic experiment: Pinch everything 10 percent, then see which pinches cause a flinch, and which do not?
- See more at: http://www.economonitor.com/dolanecon/2013/03/04/what-may-be-good-about-the-sequester/#sthash.hcLnce0r.dpuf

The Sunday morning talk shows this week were full of hand wringing about the sequester. Depending on who you listen to, it’s either dumb or stupid. Everyone seems to agree there has to be a better way. So could there be anything good about it? Maybe. As a diagnostic exercise, the sequester could turn out to be a stroke of genius.
Let me give an analogy. When my horse comes up lame, the vet has a problem. She can’t just ask the horse, “Where does it hurt?” Instead, she starts pinching up and down his leg until he flinches. She doesn’t want to hurt him, but it’s the only way to find out where the sore spot is.
The sequester is like that. Everyone agrees that there are sore spots in the budget, but not exactly where they are. Everyone is against waste, fraud, and abuse, but no elected politician dares come up with a list of what should go and what should stay. Why not perform an economic experiment: Pinch everything 10 percent, then see which pinches cause a flinch, and which do not?
- See more at: http://www.economonitor.com/dolanecon/2013/03/04/what-may-be-good-about-the-sequester/#sthash.hcLnce0r.dpuf

The Sunday morning talk shows this week were full of hand wringing about the sequester. Depending on who you listen to, it’s either dumb or stupid. Everyone seems to agree there has to be a better way. So could there be anything good about it? Maybe. As a diagnostic exercise, the sequester could turn out to be a stroke of genius.
Let me give an analogy. When my horse comes up lame, the vet has a problem. She can’t just ask the horse, “Where does it hurt?” Instead, she starts pinching up and down his leg until he flinches. She doesn’t want to hurt him, but it’s the only way to find out where the sore spot is.
The sequester is like that. Everyone agrees that there are sore spots in the budget, but not exactly where they are. Everyone is against waste, fraud, and abuse, but no elected politician dares come up with a list of what should go and what should stay. Why not perform an economic experiment: Pinch everything 10 percent, then see which pinches cause a flinch, and which do not?
- See more at: http://www.economonitor.com/dolanecon/2013/03/04/what-may-be-good-about-the-sequester/#sthash.hcLnce0r.dpuf.

The Sunday morning talk shows this week were full of hand wringing about the sequester. Depending on who you listen to, it’s either dumb or stupid. Everyone seems to agree there has to be a better way. So could there be anything good about it? Maybe. As a diagnostic exercise, the sequester could turn out to be a stroke of genius.
Let me give an analogy. When my horse comes up lame, the vet has a problem. She can’t just ask the horse, “Where does it hurt?” Instead, she starts pinching up and down his leg until he flinches. She doesn’t want to hurt him, but it’s the only way to find out where the sore spot is.
The sequester is like that. Everyone agrees that there are sore spots in the budget, but not exactly where they are. Everyone is against waste, fraud, and abuse, but no elected politician dares come up with a list of what should go and what should stay. Why not perform an economic experiment: Pinch everything 10 percent, then see which pinches cause a flinch, and which do not?
- See more at: http://www.economonitor.com/dolanecon/2013/03/04/what-may-be-good-about-the-sequester/#sthash.hcLnce0r.dpuf

The Sunday morning talk shows this week were full of hand wringing about the sequester. Depending on who you listen to, it’s either dumb or stupid. Everyone seems to agree there has to be a better way. So could there be anything good about it? Maybe. As a diagnostic exercise, the sequester could turn out to be a stroke of genius.
Let me give an analogy. When my horse comes up lame, the vet has a problem. She can’t just ask the horse, “Where does it hurt?” Instead, she starts pinching up and down his leg until he flinches. She doesn’t want to hurt him, but it’s the only way to find out where the sore spot is.
The sequester is like that. Everyone agrees that there are sore spots in the budget, but not exactly where they are. Everyone is against waste, fraud, and abuse, but no elected politician dares come up with a list of what should go and what should stay. Why not perform an economic experiment: Pinch everything 10 percent, then see which pinches cause a flinch, and which do not?
- See more at: http://www.economonitor.com/dolanecon/2013/03/04/what-may-be-good-about-the-sequester/#sthash.hcLnce0r.dpuf

The Sunday morning talk shows this week were full of hand wringing about the sequester. Depending on who you listen to, it’s either dumb or stupid. Everyone seems to agree there has to be a better way. So could there be anything good about it? Maybe. As a diagnostic exercise, the sequester could turn out to be a stroke of genius.
Let me give an analogy. When my horse comes up lame, the vet has a problem. She can’t just ask the horse, “Where does it hurt?” Instead, she starts pinching up and down his leg until he flinches. She doesn’t want to hurt him, but it’s the only way to find out where the sore spot is.
The sequester is like that. Everyone agrees that there are sore spots in the budget, but not exactly where they are. Everyone is against waste, fraud, and abuse, but no elected politician dares come up with a list of what should go and what should stay. Why not perform an economic experiment: Pinch everything 10 percent, then see which pinches cause a flinch, and which do not?
- See more at: http://www.economonitor.com/dolanecon/2013/03/04/what-may-be-good-about-the-sequester/#sthash.hcLnce0r.dpuf