"I have been traveling for a project all week, so I have missed the back and forth of every proposal and counter proposal to avert the sequester. That’s probably a good thing. The ideas that have been tossed back and forth are interesting, but if you pull back a ways, it’s clear that the basic situation is unchanged.

The Democrats would like to put off the sequester. One way to do that is smaller budget cuts, combined with more revenue. Republicans are divided. Some are deeply worried about defense cuts and are keen to come up with a deal to avoid that prospect. However other Republicans see the sequester as a downpayment on the type of austerity that’s required from government.

At the White House this week, President Barack Obama outlined the Democrat’s case."

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