Yeah, my point though is, if we're going to hurt hardworking folks, we need to at least be making meaningful cuts.
We agree there. But until the national credit card gets rejected there will never be meaningful cuts.
Right now, we're hurting people financially who cannot afford it, for almost no gain.
Ill conceived though this may be, is this not still a reduction in the cost of government? Are we not saving money we'd otherwise have to borrow? It isn't going to save the country, but what would? If we were start cutting enough to realize some significant gain, I guarantee you that it would hurt a lot more people much more deeply than this sequester business ever will.
Any significant cut in government will hurt good, honest people financially who cannot afford it. Every one of them considers their job (phony baloney or otherwise), program, welfare check, Social Security payout, grant, position, benefits, etc. to be necessary and important, and almost all rely heavily if not exclusively on the income. Even eliminating the most bloated, mismanaged unnecessary projects in government would hurt some hard-working folks on the bottom who can't afford to lose their jobs.
This isn't - to use your earlier analogy - like curing cancer. This is curing addiction, and withdrawal is never fun, even if it is necessary.