The business community, which was quite involved in the “fiscal cliff” arguments last December, appears to be less concerned about the budget cuts implemented by the sequester. As opposed to the way the community responded in December, lobbying on Capitol Hill with budget briefing books and solutions of their own, the sequester has not elicited such a strong response.
Business leaders seem less certain that the cuts from sequestration will have a significant impact on the economy, and want to move ahead. Kurt McNeil, General Motors vice president of U.S. sales operations, said, “Quite frankly, we think most of America is getting a little tired of hearing about some of the dysfunction . . . We think the fundamentals–housing, access to credit–are strong, and that’s what’s important and that’s what’s driving the economy.”
Bruce Josten, executive vice president for government affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, argued that the “fiscal cliff” was a “different animal,” and excepting the defense industry, “I’m not hearing much from business executives.”
Bob Moritz, chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers U.S, agreed that the sequester is “yet another thing on the uncertainty list . . . it’s just another one, as opposed to, ‘This is the big one.’ “
Former Michigan Republican Gov. John Engler, president of the Business Roundtable, which is comprised of big-business CEOs, said of the sequester, “You get five miles outside of Washington, and it’s hard to find someone that cares deeply.”
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.