Excellent Sequester Cartoons

I shared some sequester cartoons last month, but I didn’t think they hit the nail on the head.

As regular readers know, I want the message to be focused.

1. The problem is spending, not deficits.
2. Government is too big.
3. The sequester is a good thing, albeit too small.
4. Obama and the other politicians are engaging in hysterical hyperbole to protect special-interest spending.

I think that message is slowly sinking in, which is why I was much happier about the next batch of sequester cartoons.

Now we have an embarrassment of riches. Enjoy (and widely share) this set of cartoons.

We’ll start with Michael Ramirez, who uses pie charts to show how much bigger government is today and how the sequester is just crumbs.

And here’s one from Ed Gamble showing the President engaging in fear tactics, though both Ramirez and Gamble are wrong about the “cuts.” The sequester cuts $85 billion of “budget authority,” but that translates into only $44 billion of “budget outlays.”

That’s just 1.2 percent of FY2013 spending. And remember that this means spending will still go up compared to FY2012 – as I explained in my most recent interview.

Here’s a cartoon from Gary Varvel, which is quite similar to an excellent cartoon he produced last year.

Here’s one from Glenn McCoy, poking fun at Obama for taking everything in stride…except when something happens to threaten the amount of waste in Washington.

I’m especially fond of this Glenn Foden cartoon since I’m sick and tired of the absurd hyperbole from the interest groups in DC.

Makes me wish I could bop a few Chicken Little characters on the head.

Here’s one from A.F. Branco, which I also like because it simultaneously mocks Obama’s Keynesian mindset while showing that the real danger is an ever-rising burden of government spending.

Last but not least, Lisa Benson makes fun of Obama for his never-ending efforts to instill panic.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the sequester happens on March 1. Then, even if the Obama Administration deliberately tries to cause inconvenience for the American people, we’ll see that the world doesn’t come to an end.

Who knows, maybe that will even lead lawmakers to think they can impose some real fiscal restraint, as we’ve recently seen in countries like Estonia and in the 1990s by nations such as Canada and New Zealand.

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Slaying the Make-Believe Sequester Monster

I’m normally not a fan of the media, but every so often you find examples of real journalism. Here are some powerful, well-done stories from local TV stations.

1. Exposing the plethora of benefits available to those who want government-subsidized idleness.
2. Exposing how eminent domain laws are used to screw poor people out of their property.
3. Exposing local government officials engaged in a witch hunt against an innocent man.

Newspapers also sometimes speak truth to power.

1. A Michigan newspaper exposing how motorists were getting ripped off by illegal speed limits.
2. A Pennsylvania newspaper exposing how a local bureaucrat  union tried to stop a boy scout from improving a local park.
3. A New York newspaper exposing the education establishment for giving teachers $100,000-plus salaries for doing nothing.

Now I can add another story to the list. A local TV station in Washington, DC (with a viewing audience of countless overpaid bureaucrats) had the courage to run a story debunking sequester hysteria.

I’m partial to this report for the obvious reason that it featured me.

But even if this story didn’t use any of my soundbites, it would still be worth sharing because it’s not often that you see a reporter explain Washington’s dishonest way of measuring “spending cuts.”

I’ve complained about that sleazy tactic while appearing with John Stossel and Judge Napolitano, but I didn’t think a regular journalist would ever expose the scam.

The latter part of the report focuses on the potential impact of sequestration on the defense budget.

I’ve previously explained that the defense budget is disproportionately impacted, but I’ve also cited Cato’s military experts when arguing that our national security will not be endangered.

Indeed, military spending will be higher at the end of the 10-year period than it is today.

Now I want to share this amazing info-graphic prepared by Zach Graves, another Cato colleague.

A thorough and compelling collection of data. It belongs in the visual-impact Hall of Fame with these gems.

• The crippling fiscal cost of the welfare state – but how little of the money trickles down to the poor.
• Exposing Obama’s miserable jobs performance.
• The importance of saving and investment if we want workers to enjoy higher wages.
• The TSA’s Orwellian (and incompetent) approach to airline security.
• Showing how the burden of government spending has exceeded the growth of the economy’s productive sector.

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