by Eve Barnett
We keep hearing and reading about the ominous “sequester” that will take place on March 1st, should Congress not take action. Despite all the hype being raised by politicians and reporters, the sequester is difficult to understand—what is it? And if it happens, how will it affect our lives as Princetonians?
The sequester is a series of automatic cuts that will potentially take place at the start of next month. While these cuts help decrease our deficit, they may also, by extension, “slow economic growth and job creation while cutting critical services and investments.”[1] Originating in the Budget Control Act of 2011, Congress created the sequester to spur concrete legislative action—because the cuts would impact our economy so drastically, there were hopes that a future Congress would finally take meaningful action to address the deficit. However, Congress has instead chosen to consistently defer the debate, pushing back the cuts that were initially set to occur at the start of this year, in an effort to give Congress more time.
Though we live in the orange bubble, these budget cuts will tangibly affect our lives now and post-graduation in substantive, specific ways—we will be impacted by the looming cuts to education funding, research funding, and small business assistance programs.
- Cuts to Education Funding– These cuts will impact Princetonians who receive financial aid from Not-For-Profit (NFP) contract servicers. Though the law protects Pell Grants, NFP servicers that provide student loans will face reduced funding. Education Secretary Arne Duncan predicts that perhaps even 29 million student loan borrowers nationwide could be negatively affected, receiving significantly smaller loans.[2]
- Cuts to Research Funding– These cuts will impact Princeton students who hope to conduct research for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) or the National Science Foundation (NFS). In addition to simply eliminating medical research jobs, the NIH will face approximately $1.6 billion of cuts in medical research; the NFS will face $375 million of cuts. Both these cuts will result in less funding for small research grants and projects.[3]
- Cuts to Small Business Assistance– These cuts will impact those of us eager to join or start small businesses after graduation. The automatic cuts outlined in the sequester will decrease the loan guarantees upon which many small businesses traditionally by approximately $902 million.[4]
Although the sequester entails countless other cuts to elementary education funding, food safety inspections, mental health services, military operations, and development initiatives, these three cuts have the potential to significantly impact—and hinder— our futures, as we make our way through Princeton, take on summer internships, and prepare for life post-bubble. Here’s hoping Congress finally takes real, substantive action before March 1st.
