  Sequestration: A Primer for the Perplexed  5 February 2013
5:40 pm   On 1 March, an $85-billion across-the-board cut in
federal spending—the first step in a mandatory $1.2 trillion
reduction over 10 years—will go into effect unless all sides
agree to delay it or substitute something else. Indeed, when the
Budget Control Act that created sequestration was enacted in
August 2011, both sides expected to have an alternative in place
by now.  That didn't happen. But after more than a year of
shrill rhetoric, the first serious alternatives are beginning to
emerge. (The cuts were actually supposed to kick in on 2
January, but on New Year's Day Congress gave itself a 2-month
reprieve.)  Senate Democrats, who control that body, are busy
working on a package that would lower spending and increase
revenues. Their goal is to shrink the deficit without decimating
domestic programs. President Barack Obama chimed in today with a
similar prescription, urging Congress to adopt it as a temporary
fix for the next few months.