The debate on sequestration is maddening! Finger-pointing runs rampant in Washington, D.C., and in the populace. In my opinion we are all to blame.
The president's office brokered the Budget Control Act of 2011 (S365, HR690), which gave us the Joint Select Committee, which is failing to come to an agreement and which blessed us with sequestration.
Had the House showed some backbone it never would have agreed to this bill. There is no moving forward when continually backing down. It's easy to say you want a balanced budget and to make needed cuts; it's another thing to do it. They did try to correct their mistake by passing HR5652 in May 2012, which could have dealt with the problem, but the Senate wouldn't even let it come to the floor for debate. U.S. Sen. Harry Reid refuses to let anything he doesn't agree with come to the floor for debate; I think he has forgotten how the process is supposed to work.
We the people are also to blame. We keep electing people who are more concerned with their jobs, their wallets and their next election than they are about how the nation will survive. We vote for them because of what they do for us and what entitlements we might get: a pay raise, an unemployment extension, a train between cities, a mine up and running, a job, an oil pipeline or even another bike path.
It's time for all concerned to stop thinking about themselves and to start thinking about our nation. If we don't do something soon we may not have a free nation to worry about.
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Susan Connor
Duluth
