George Will: Sequester Needed to Curb Washington's Contemptuous Treatment of Taxpayers’ Money

February 17th, 2013 5:28 PM

Syndicated columnist George Will appears all for Congress allowing sequestration to reduce spending on March 1.

Appearing on ABC's This Week Sunday, Will said it would be appropriate given the "utter contempt with which Washington treats taxpayers' money."

JONATHAN KARL, SUBSTITUTE HOST: George, the bottom line, these sequester cuts obviously are going to happen, and then we're going to have a battle over the government shutdown, debt ceiling. Where does this all end?

GEORGE WILL: It doesn't end. This is Democratic politics in an age when we have made promises we can't keep and there are intractable budget ceilings that we have to bump up against. Let me give you two examples this week. The Navy citing the sequester delayed the deployment of the aircraft carrier Truman undermining our pledge to have two carrier groups in the Persian Gulf to keep pressure on Iran. Citing the sequester. You telling me the Navy can't find other ways to economize without this flamboyant and provocative way of trying to pressure Congress?

Second, this week we learned that the Agriculture Department has a diversity awareness program – it doesn't cost much money - in which they teach the bureaucrats in the Agriculture Department to refer to the Pilgrims as illegal aliens and minorities as emerging majorities. It's a small amount of money but a huge symptom of the utter contempt with which Washington treats taxpayers' money. Two good reasons right there to go ahead with the sequester.