Incoming: Sequestration gets uglier the second time

Editorial by Fayetteville Observer, September 24, 2013.

The second earthquake is on the way. It won't be an aftershock. And it's likely to be worse than the first.

Welcome to the waiting line for Sequestration, Part 2.

Federal fiscal year 2014 begins in one week. With it comes the promise of more blind budget cutting, mandated by a law the president and lawmakers of both parties believed so terrifying that it would force them to agree to budget actions that would cut the federal deficit.

They guessed wrong, and it meant, among other things, $37 billion cut from this year's defense budget. Some of that cutting showed up here, where at least 40 percent of our economy depends on the federal defense budget.

It's not that our defense budget couldn't stand to lose $37 billion. That would be a piece of cake, were it left to Pentagon planners, who are regularly saddled with projects and weapons systems that exist only to bolster the re-election chances of their congressional sponsor. But under sequestration, the ax falls equally on all projects, save those that pay and maintain the warriors. Everything else - including things like medical services for military dependents - was vulnerable.

Around here, that meant cuts in services and programs, limited hours at clinics and furloughs for most civilian defense employees. Since January, this area has lost about 1,100 jobs. About half of them were federal, according to N.C. State economist Mike Walden.

While the furloughs ended up being shorter than expected, they could be even worse this year, because the Defense Department will need to cut another $52 billion to comply with sequestration.

We say that with some certainty, because there was little indication last week that Congress would do anything to prevent the mandatory cuts. Instead, the House voted to defund Obamacare as part of its budget proposal, which the Senate will likely reject and the White House certainly will not approve.

Retired Gen. Dan McNeill, who leads a Fayetteville-based defense-contracting company, believes the 2014 sequestration will hit us harder than this year's reductions. Fort Bragg has already announced cutbacks, including layoffs of 200 employees at Womack Army Medical Center.

While we all agree the answer is diversifying the local economy, that's easier said than done when every other similar community in the country is trying to do the same. There are only so many big manufacturing plants to go around.

So fasten your seatbelts. Here it comes.