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The economy has already shown some weakness of late, but imaginewhat it would look like if Connecticut lost 35,000 jobs and thenation 1.3 million. That's what a new report sees in the near future for Connecticutand other states if Congress does not act and stop a $500 billiondefense budget sequestration plan to cut spending over the nextdecade. On Wednesday, the Center for Security Policy with the group, For the Common Defense, provided an assessment ofthe planned and potential cuts on the 50 states during a forumcalled "Like Shooting Ourselves in the Head," at the Reserve Officers Association in Washington, D.C. "It's the best title of any defense education forum we've ever doneat the Center," said Major General Andrew B. Davis , ROA executive director, before introducing the authors of theassessment. The group is urging voters to call their congressmenand congresswomen. The Budget Control Act of 2011 required Congress to cut $1.2trillion from the federal budget or have automatic cuts kick in fora decade beginning in 2013. Congress failed to adopt theSimpson-Bowles plan or come up with an alternative and now the Defense Department faces about a $500 billion reduction over the next decade,amounting to about an 18 percent reduction per year. That's on topof a planned 9 percent reduction to spending. Concerns are growingthat Congress will not address the situation before it goes intoeffect, saddling the presidential winner and new Congress with bigproblems. U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman , I-Conn., said it is a dire situation. "Congress should act before the end of the year to avoidsequestration because it would result in devastating cuts to vitaldomestic and defense programs," said Lieberman, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee . "What is needed is a balanced, bipartisan plan similar to theSimpson-Bowles proposal, which would responsibly reduce the deficitand avoid a crisis that threatens our economic recovery." The report released Wednesday found Connecticut, home to major jetengine makers, submarine and helicopter builders, as well asmanufacturers of power and heating equipment for military uses, hasmuch to lose. Defense contractors here earned $12.5 billion in2011. That includes money coming into headquarters operations likeGeneral Electric Co., which has defense contracts in other states. With an 18 percent, across-the-board cut, the report expectsConnecticut to lose 35,000 jobs in the first one to two years, anddefense contractors might see revenue reductions of more than $2.27billion each year over the decade. Some small shops would close, the authors reported. Nationally, the report said 1.3 million jobs would be lost. California could lose 125,000 jobs with defense contractor revenuestrimmed by $7.8 billion a year. New York stands to lose about26,000 jobs, with defense contract revenues declining $1.37 billiona year, and Texas could expect a loss of more than 91,000 jobs anda $6.4 billion annual drop in defense contract revenues. "No one is sure how it's going to work," Ed Deak , a Fairfield University economist said Wednesday. "You could be looking at another periodof `wind-down' in Connecticut like in the late '80s and early'90s." The state suffered a huge loss of jobs after Reagan-era defensespending ended. Deak wouldn't attest to the veracity of the report's lossprojections but said even half those numbers would be a problem. "That's still a lot in an economy that's not growing," he said. Deak said one problem is the election, and he's not sure anyone inWashington is willing to tackle the issue until they know if theirside will win. But Deak noted trends indicate businesses are making more profitthan ever and at some point, they will have to start spending andhiring. That's when things could change. In the meantime, workers and their representatives are worried. "We are very concerned," said Rocco J. Calo , secretary-treasurer Teamsters Local 1150, which representsthousands of Sikorsky Aircraft workers. "If it happens it will havea major impact on our military orders and in turn our head count.We are and will continue to work very closely with our delegation.Also we are working with our International Brotherhood of Teamsters for any assistance they can provide." U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney , D-Conn., sits on the House Armed Services Committee and said Electric Boat workers asked the secretary of defenseduring a recent visit to Groton what would happen to their jobs. Courtney was not too hopeful the situation will be addressed thisyear, though he said all sides are talking about the issue. He said House Republican leadership has said they will only be inWashington for 10 days and do not expect to do any policy workuntil after the November election. "The chain saw goes into effect Jan. 1," Courtney said. "For somelarge employers, layoff notices could go out by late October." Courtney said the highway bill is also is going to expire, and thatcould result in the loss of 3 million jobs. The student loan issuehas not been handled, and the Bush tax credits are set to expire.He doesn't see why it makes sense to do everything after theelection. "The conventional wisdom is we're going to deal with all theseissues after the election," Courtney said. "But under any scenario,whether (President) Obama wins or loses, the cast of charactersdoesn't change in a lame duck session of Congress.". The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Household LED Light Bulbs , China Decorative Strip Lighting, and more. For more , please visit Car LED Light Bulbs today!
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