Over the Easter weekend MarqueePolitics, like many of you, traveled to spend the holiday with family. It was on this trip where he saw, up-close, the absolutely foolish effects of the sequester.
I’m not a morning person, but at 6 a.m. on Monday morning I found myself in the main terminal of Toronto’s Pearson International Airport. Not wanting to miss my 8:30 a.m. flight back to DC, I gave myself plenty of time to clear security and also get my standard breakfast: a large iced coffee with an apple fritter. For some unknown reason, for flights bound for the USA, passengers have to clear American customs prior to boarding in Toronto.
So at 6:15 with passport in hand, I walked toward Passport Control only to be denied entry. When I inquired why a security agent informed me, “Due to recent budget cuts (the sequester), you are not allowed to enter customs until your flight time-range is called.” I was then directed to a holding pen, joining well over a 100 other miserable passengers who were experiencing the same fate.
After 75 minutes of sitting and listening to the airport loudspeaker blast the greatest smooth jazz hits of the 1980’s, it was announced that those with 8:30 flight times could now enter customs. Cognizant that it was now 7:30, that my flight was leaving in one hour and I still had to clear customs AND security, I ran to Passport Control only to find myself standing in line for another 25 minutes. When I finally arrived at a US Border agent, the agent asked for my passport, furiously stamped it, handed it back to me, and told me I was free to go all without looking up or asking questions.
With five minutes to spare, I made my plane and sat at my gate dumbfounded.
My position on the sequester is well known: it was an absolutely foolish attempt to tackle America’s debt problem. The sequester is the equivalent of telling an alcoholic to quit drinking hard liquor and stick to beer! Sequestration inadvertently cuts the wrong areas, rather than address the heart of America’s debt problem. What’s even more embarrassing is that the stupidity of this law is now being seen by citizens from around the world when they travel through America’s borders.
The financial catastrophes of Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, Italy and Portugal should serve as a warning to America. Our time to fix the debt is running out. Cutting border security and TSA staff, furloughing government employees and across the board cuts are the wrong approach. If you disagree, try going through American customs or boarding an American-bound international flight. If you do, bring a book, cause you’ll be there a while! But don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of time to read the sign about how this delay was made possible due to budget cuts.
Marquee Politics 