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6A Daily News ��� Wednesday, February 27, 2013 Opinion How would business handle the 'sequester?' DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U NTY S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Greg Stevens, Publisher gstevens@redbluffdailynews.com Chip Thompson, Editor editor@redbluffdailynews.com Editorial policy The Daily News opinion is expressed in the editorial. The opinions expressed in columns, letters and cartoons are those of the authors and artists. Letter policy The Daily News welcomes letters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All letters must be signed and provide the writer���s home street address and home phone number. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and cannot exceed two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section of those submitted will be considered for publication. Letters will be edited. 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How to reach us Main office: 527-2151 Classified: 527-2151 Circulation: 527-2151 News tips: 527-2153 Sports: 527-2153 Obituaries: 527-2151 Photo: 527-2153 On the Web www.redbluffdailynews.com Fax Newsroom: 527-9251 Classified: 527-5774 Retail Adv.: 527-5774 Legal Adv.: 527-5774 Business Office: 527-3719 Address 545 Diamond Ave. Red Bluff, CA 96080, or P.O. Box 220 Red Bluff, CA 96080 (MCT) ��� By now, we've all seen and heard the parade of public officials predicting doom and gloom if the $85 billion budget "sequester" kicks in on March 1. Both sides of the aisle apparently want us to forget that this is a problem of Washington's own making. The histrionics are entirely unnecessary. There isn't a CEO in this country who would allow him- or herself to get trapped in such a predicament ��� or would wait until the last minute to find a way out. On the first point, that the "crisis" is self-made, I refer you to the Budget Control Act of 2011. Signed into law in August of that year, the act provided that automatic spending cuts would take effect on Jan. 2, 2013, if Congress's Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction was unable to craft an acceptable bipartisan plan to cut long-term deficit spending by at least $1.5 trillion over 10 years. Just before Thanksgiving 2011, that committee threw in the towel, stating: "After months of hard work and intense deliberations, we have come to the conclusion ... that it will not be possible to make any bipartisan agreement available to the public before the committee's (Nov. 23) deadline." So Congress and the White House have had 15 months to get their act together. But they couldn't. So late last year, with Washington in a state of high frenzy about going over the "fiscal cliff," they punted, passing legislation that increased taxes on high-income individuals, but delaying the automatic spending cuts ��� the so-called sequester ��� until March 1. Now a new round of histrionics: the "Washington Monument ploy." The short version is this: If the budget cuts ��� really, reductions in planned increases ��� are allowed, drastic measures will be necessary, such as closing the Washington Monument to tourists. And worse, they'll also be forced, the storyline goes, to cut back on food safety inspections, school lunches, security screening at airports, processing income tax returns, and other high-profile activities. One of the problems with Washington is that, with federal spending nearing $4 trillion, nobody seems to know how much money is being spent on exactly what. President Jimmy Carter tried to get a handle on this in the late 1970s with an approach known as zero-based budgeting, which he had adopted, as governor of Georgia, from Peter Phyrr, then a controller with Texas Instruments. Another attempt was made during the first year of the Clinton administration, with the adoption of the Government Performance and Results Act (amended in 2010 with the Gov- ernment Performance and resources to the most productive Results Modernization Act). But units and those with the most neither of these efforts proved potential. Using this approach, fruitful, serving as bureaucratic the CEO probably would find 5 percent to cut without window dressing rather breaking a sweat. than providing serious Similarly, lots of budget analysis. government activities A corporate execucould be cut. A Feb. tive would do things 2012 Government differently. Accountability Office First, he or she (GAO) report found would know how the that Washington company's money is wastes tens of billions being spent and how of dollars annually on much everything costs. overlapping governIf belt tightening is ment programs. An needed, good execuHarlod example: 53 programs tives would do everyrun by four agencies thing they can to prethat provide economic vent across-the-board development assiscuts, as the Budget tance. Control Act requires. A good CEO wouldn't make Many executives have faced tougher decisions than Washing- indiscriminate cuts across the ton faces today. The federal bud- board; a CEO would eliminate get proposed by President waste, duplication, and programs Obama for fiscal 2013 calls for that aren't meeting their objec$3.8 trillion in total spending. An tives. Why can't Washington do $85 billion reduction ��� the amount spending would fall this? under the sequester ��� would Harold L. Sirkin is a Chicagotrim overall spending by less based senior partner of The than 3 percent. If a CEO had to pare back 2 Boston Consulting Group and percent to 3 percent, he or she co-author, most recently, of U.S. Manufacturing would look at the performance "The Renaissance: How Shifting of the company's operating units, determine which units are Global Economics Are Creating under-performing (and why), an American Comeback." and close, sell, or spin off the Readers may write to him at ones that aren't meeting their The Boston Consulting Group, goals. At the same time, he or 300 N. LaSalle, Chicago, Ill. she would provide additional 60654. Sirkin Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN ��� Dan Logue, 1550 Humboldt Road, Ste. 4, Chico, CA 95928, 530-895-4217 STATE SENATOR ��� Jim Nielsen, 280 Hemsted Dr., Ste. 110, Redding, CA 96002, 530223-6300, Fax: 530-223-6737, senator.nielsen@senate.ca.gov GOVERNOR ��� Jerry Brown, State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 5583160; E-mail: governor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE ��� Doug LaMalfa 506 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515, 202-2253076. U.S. SENATORS ��� Dianne Feinstein (D), One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 393-0707. Fax (415) 3930710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (510) 286-8537. Fax (202) 224-0454. Commentary Are humans getting dumber? "The report said people are getting dumber ��� at least I think that's what it said, but the big words kept throwing me off." "Ah, yes, you speak of a recent study by Stanford University researcher and geneticist Dr. Gerald Crabtree. He believes human beings are undergoing intellectual decline." "We are?" "Writing about the study in the Natural Society Newsletter, Mike Barrett says that, according to Crabtree, our cognitive abilities are the result of 'the combined effort of thousands of genes.' If a mutation were to happen to anyone, it could damage intelligence ��� and Crabtree thinks such mutations have occurred." "Which reminds me: Honey Boo Boo is on tonight." "Says Crabtree: 'I would wager that if an average citizen from Athens of 1000 BC were to appear suddenly among us, he or she would be among the brightest and most intellectually alive of our colleagues and companions, with a good memory, a broad range of ideas, and a clear-sighted view of important issues.'" "Perhaps, but I'm confident I'd beat the Greek at beer pong." "Crabtree says part of the rea- son people are dumber now is that Darwin's theory of the survival of the fittest ��� the strong survive and the weak are weeded out ��� is no longer as relevant." "Well, Darwin didn't survive, either, so what does he know?" "Look, Crabtree is just arguing that the stronger and smarter are no longer necessarily able to dominate society, whereas the weaker and dumber are better able to survive and thrive than ever before." "Well, somebody has to run Congress." "Barrett, the fellow who wrote about Crabtree's study, suggests there are additional reasons for people getting dumber. For starters, he says our water and food systems are contributing to lower intelligence. We pump fluoride into our water to prevent tooth decay, but some studies find it has an adverse effect on neurodevelopment in children." "If it's not one thing, it's another." "Barrett cites other studies that show pesticides, which end up in our food supply, are 'creating lasting changes in overall brain structure ... that have been linked to lower intelligence levels and decreased cognitive function.'" "Maybe so, but who wants to more? I rely on the major media eat an apple with a bunch of to tell me what to think." " R e g r e t t a b l y, wormholes?" there is a frightening "Barrett also cites amount of truth in studies that show a corwhat you say. There relation between conis less critical thinksuming processed ing today. The less foods and high-fructose critical thinking corn syrup and IQ there is, the easier it decline in children. is for people to be Fructose may sabotage easily persuaded by learning and memory." television and social "I don't know about media ��� and the IQ decline, but less likely they are processed foods and to make sound, intelhigh-fructose corn Tom ligent decisions syrup make me cuckoo about the houses ��� cuckoo for Cocoa they buy or the Puffs!" politicians they vote "There is plenty of debate on whether or not pesti- for." "But back in 2008, everyone cides and processed foods are doing as much damage as some was buying houses they couldn't researchers claim, but I think we afford and making a bundle! It can agree there are other things wasn't my fault I bought a manthat are making humans dumb- sion just before the bubble burst ��� or voted for 'hope and er." "You're not going to take change' that has never come." "My point exactly." away my video games again, are you?" Tom Purcell, a humor "Television is the biggest culcolumnist for the Pittsburgh prit. Every week, American adults spend 34 hours sitting in Tribune-Review, is nationally front of the tube, which trains syndicated exclusively by their minds to be inactive and Cagle Cartoons newspaper lazy ��� whereas reading a book syndicate. Visit Tom on the or solving a puzzle helps devel- Web at www.TomPurcell.com or e-mail him at op critical thinking." "Who needs to think any- Purcell@caglecartoons.com. Purcell