Remember those sequestration federal spending cuts of 2012? How could anybody forget them, considering the apocalyptic disasters they were sure to cause, according to the endless predictions of President Obama, his Democratic allies in Congress and the dominant narrative of the mainstream media. Typical of the latter was ABC’s Josh Elliott on “Good Morning America”: “It’s only hours now until massive government cuts go into effect that could impact every American. Jobs vaporizing, flights delayed, even criminals walking free.”
The underlying assumption of that narrative was that America would be forced to shut down by the cuts because among the first victims would be federal employees, thousands of whom were likely to lose their jobs for lack of funds. Without these government workers, desperately needed programs and essential services would end. Kids would be tossed out of Head Start, single mothers deprived of food stamps, and Social Security checks delayed. Oh, the humanity!
