I think the hardest thing here, is MOST people here haven't been through this before. Sorry I'm old, but this is NOT the first time this has happened before. There were times when we didn't get paid on payday. There were years where NO PILOTS AT ALL graduated from the academy that year. "In other words, a cutback on pilot slots". Went through closing bases, cutbacks, etc... I know this is confusing and concerning for some, but this is not the first time.
Also; don't at all believe that because the sequester kicked in, that it's some permanent cut in the budget. 1) This isn't a CUT in the budget, in ANY WAY, SHAPE, or FORM. 2) Nothing is permanent in the government.
My prediction: Obama/Whitehouse and the Congress will have their few days/weeks of grandstanding. They'll pretend how much they really care about the deficit and debt. They'll compromise and find some cuts in spending and they'll probably raise more revenue through taxing more. "Maybe the Whitehouse will finally get a budget. They haven't had a budget in 4 years". The democrats will try and convince the american people that they saved the country; and the republicans will try and convince the american people that they too saved the country. And we'll be back where we were.
There is no doubt that there is a lot of places to save money. Republicans want to cut spending in entitlement and social programs; the democrats want to cut spending on defense and increase taxes. Hopefully BOTH SIDES will admit, (Because they both know it); that there's enough WASTE in all government agencies and spending, that if they would just catch the waste, then they'd save billions of dollars. Hopefully they'll all agree to cut wasteful subsidies, grants, and foreign aid. If they cut the waste from these areas, and expect other countries to help the world instead of just the USA, we'll have enough money to spend.
Bottom line: All these concerns, while legitimate, are temporary. The federal government, from Obama to the Congress, doesn't have enough balls to make a firm decision. The sequester is a drop in the bucked in spending cuts, but they'll make the sheeple and ignorant believe that the sky is falling and we're doomed. From here on out, realize that it's ALL POLITICS and has nothing to do with finances or budgets.