KINGSTON, Jamaica - Last Thursday, the United States Congress abandoned efforts to find consensus on a way to avoid automatic budget cuts.
Although both Republicans and Democrats professed willingness to compromise and pursue a balanced and pragmatic approach, the two political parties adhered rigidly to their ideological economic fundamentalism.
Sequestration requires 5.1 per cent automatic cuts amounting to US$85 billion. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that if sequestration remains in place there would be job loss of 750,000 during the remainder of 2013.