Automatic Spending Cuts Under BCA Sequester

As a supplement to the previously published chart “What Will Happen if the U.S. Super Committee on Deficit Reduction Fails” Dr. de Rugy highlights the magnitude of the automatic budget cuts relative to the Congressional Budget Office’s Baseline spending projections. Using data from CBO’s Economic Outlook and recent Budget Control Act publication, Dr. de Rugy finds that the level of spending cuts over 2013-2021 are drastically higher than any annual spending reductions from the past.

In addition, the following data table serves as an aid to show the percent change in annual cuts relative to CBO’s baseline scenario projections. It is evident that automatic spending cuts are unmatched by any annual spending reductions in U.S. history.