"It is designed to be stupid.
It is designed to be uncomfortable.
It is designed to be a Doomsday machine"
And the threat of sequestration didn't work.
Again.
This time, the cuts will be bigger.
It used to be that news stories like this didn't really affect me much. I was relatively insulated in my life as a student. I had family connected to work in the federal government, but not in a way that would be too drastically altered by budget cuts. But las Tuesday morning, I received an e-mail that made the sequester a little more real to me:
My year of service won't be affected. But what about the person who replaces me? How will this affect the community center, and the people we serve? What does this mean for anti-poverty initiatives across the country? It will slow down; some projects may stop. I was hoping to do another year of service, possibly as a VISTA leader. Now I'm hedging my bets, and trying to find other job opportunities in case that falls through. It's so sad, because this is a time that we need AmeriCorps now more than ever.
Besides the cuts to AmeriCorps, the sequester is going to affect a lot of us. According to the Deseret News, you could feel affects if you:
- are a Defense Department Employee
- ride Airlines
- receive assistance through the Women, Infants, and Children program
- are a service member
- are a teacher
- love the outdoors
- have a job and spend money on things
Um, I think all of us are included in at least one of these categories. Just something to think about.
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