We are now approaching week two of the sequester with no end in sight to the political gridlock that caused it in the first place. Perhaps we have all been distracted by a certain thirteen hour speech, but the sequester has not seemed to attract the same buzz and attention that the fiscal cliff reached. And that is a shame, because unlike the "fiscal cliff," sequester is a real word, is actually happening, and will have widespread affects, even here in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, no one is sure what exactly those affects will be.
If you are unfamiliar with the sequester, here is very informative article discussing the national implications it holds:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/02/20/the-sequester-absolutely-everything-you-could-possibly-need-to-know-in-one-faq/
But what about California? The above post claims that California stands to lose more jobs than just about every state; over 200.000. Only Virginia and Maryland (with their numerous D.C. and defense jobs) are in the same league.
However, the city of Los Angeles recently released a statement giving a much more specific breakdown as to which jobs and agencies are in danger:
http://ceo.lacounty.gov/pdf/portal/Sequestration%20022513.pdf
As you can see, the Departments of Public Health, Senior Services, and Community Development are the only programs that will be seeing significant cuts. LA also has defense interests and jobs, but not as much as other areas of California. So at first glance the outlook does not look so bad, but the comes the kicker:
"The ultimate fiscal impact of the 2013 sequester on the County cannot be determined at this time because non of the 12 FFY 2013 appropriation bills, which fund discretionary programs have been enacted. Instead, all discretionary programs are temprarily funded under a Continuing Resolution through March 27, 2013."
Healthcare and other Los Angeles service will currently see small cuts; if this sequester in not ended by the end of March, then we will begin to see major effect form the sequester at our local level.
With Los Angeles government in the middle of an election cycle, and fairly powerless to deal with such a federal matter, the city is forced to rely on a swift end to Washington gridlock. This week we have seen a thirteen hour filibuster over a nomination and the 5th amendment. Then on Saturday night President Obama made a few sequester jokes at the annual Gridiron Dinner (glad to see the sequester did not halt this important event). If Washington can not get it act together and push for something differnt then yet another stop gap that only pushes the deadlines ahead a few months, then Los Angles and the rest of the country will face some serious cuts in services and jobs next month.
It was interesting that the sequester has received less outrage from both sides of the aisle and Americans alike. I think after the fiscal cliff and the other previous standoffs regarding the budget and the economy, Americans were just too exhausted to give the sequester the attention that it should have gotten. It is interesting that the representatives of the states with the most to loose from the sequester, red-states such as Alabama and Wyoming, supported the sequester the most. While California will be effected, it receives less than its share in government support already. California has also taken measures to raise taxes to protect its entitlement programs in spite of federal cuts. It will be interesting to see how states like Alabama will react once they feel the full effect of the sequester.
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