Cluck, Cluck!

The White House has it that 13,000 people are going down one way or another in Montana when sequestration goes through. The sky is falling and Barack can’t find any “smart” way to handle it. 

The White House estimates the cuts will cost Montana at least $10.5 million and affect more than 13,000 people in the areas of education, military, health, social services and the environment. The cuts are the result of federal lawmakers’ inability to compromise on a deficit-reduction plan. 

If Congress does not pull back from the brink and reach a last-minute deal, there will be real consequences for the state, the new Democratic governor said Tuesday. But Montana is in a strong economic position with a $500 million surplus, and because the cuts would be implemented in stages, there is no need to change any spending plans at this point in his proposed $10 billion budget, he said.

I did the math as I was sitting at lunch, the $8.50 buffet at The Wok on North 7th Street here in Bozeman. There are a million of us Montanans, which translates Obama’s scare regime into $10.50 per person, which was exactly the cost of my lunch (no sales tax in Montana) after I added the tip. One MSG laden lunch per year – where art thou Chicken Little?   Even at this ridiculously low level, there are more than enough funds in Montana’s budget to absorb state differences.  I may not know what smart is, but I know it’s damn stupid to pay attention to anything that comes out of this president’s mouth.