Stop Overhyping the Sequester

Enough with the sequester hype, pleads Matt Miller in the Washington Post. We're less than two weeks away from across-the-board spending cuts unless a last-minute deal emerges, and to hear President Obama and others tell it, everyone should head to their underground bunkers now. "Criminals would run free, planes might collide, teachers would be kicked to the curb, al-Qaeda would be given an opening" ... you get the picture. Please, writes Miller.

These kinds of indiscriminate cuts are never wise, but Miller cites a rule of thumb from his days as a management consultant that big businesses can trim 10% of costs without great hardship. The government is far more bloated than any business, "which means the idea that a 5% cut by definition spells disaster is preposterous." The hype only further erodes DC's "credibility gap," writes Miller, who suggests an easy out: "Simultaneously re-enact a payroll tax cut equal to or greater than the sequester and call it a day." Click for Miller's full column. (More sequester stories.)