[ceejayoz]

> Actual cuts may only amount to a few billion.

And that's assuming the cuts don't have any fiscally counterproductive knock-on effects. Which they certainly will.

[thechao]

Do we even have a way of estimating the billions it will cost to resecuritize our infrastructure? What about the cost in lost soft power? The total knock on effect in loss to the economy for not subsidizing basic research, that led to the U.S. being a major power in medicine & pharma? This is the very definition of penny-wise–pound-foolish.