Letter: Federal sequester isn't a cut

So the federal government will have to get by on $80 billion less for the year. I choose to look at this paltry reduction and celebrate.

Sequestration will leave you with $80 billion more of your own money. This is $80 billion that will not be confiscated or extracted from the pockets of productive individuals or the treasuries of business.

The state does not add wealth to our economy but parasitically extracts it through taxes from all producers. For elitist political considerations that include generous campaign contributions, the state transfers the producers’ wealth to favored tax spenders whether individuals, specially protected minorities or crony capitalists who all ravenously feed at the D.C. trough.

While not reported by the main stream media, the “sequester” is not a cut in federal spending. It is a reduction on the increase that they wanted to spend this year. If you were expecting a 5 percent raise this year, but you only got a 3 percent increase, your pay was not cut by 2 percent but you will get 3 percent more than last year.

Just how did we get by four years ago when the federal government was spending was over $1 trillion less than today? Oh, the humanity!

For real honesty, let us forbid the any government from using the words “new revenues” when they actually mean “more taxes” or “new investments” when they really mean “more spending.”

In 1787, the Founding Fathers deliberately designed a Constitution to severely restrict the over-reaching power of a national government following their colonial experiences with George III. Real political power was to be installed in the new “union of sovereign states” with the Bill of Rights added to protect all of our natural and inalienable rights from the government.

As free people, let this sequester be the first of many that will rein in the power the federal leviathan. As for me, I intend to buy a fine wine from a local wine store, fine cheese from a local grocery and celebrate a “sequester evening” with my wife.

Craig Livingstone

Red Wing

Tags: letters, community, opinion