As the potential for a massive federal budget sequestration looms, the National Association of Counties (NACo) has assembled a presentation that understandably walks through the mechanics and meaning of the potential sequestration, as well as a set of county principles for potential federal action.

From NACo’s set of general principles:

• It is nearly impossible to address the federal debt and deficit crisis by
severely cutting domestic, non-military discretionary programs
• Federal assistance to state and local governments will help mitigate further
layoffs; A new round of cuts will most likely result from sequester
• Federal investments and matching funds in state and local infrastructure
projects helps produce private sector jobs and improve our competitiveness
• Deficit reduction should NOT be accomplished by shifting costs to counties,
imposing unfunded mandates, or pre-empting county programs and taxing
authority

The presentation document is available online. For a power point version of the document (more versatile for slide-style presentations) contact the MACo office.