They continue to describe the sequester cuts as modest. They compare them to the drop in take-home pay most workers suffered at the beginning of the year when a modest payroll tax cut expired.
"I don't know whether it's going to hurt the economy or not. I don't think anyone quite understands how the sequester is really going to work," said House Speaker John Boehner on NBC's "Meet the Press."
With no path to compromise visible, all that seems certain at the moment is that the United States will indeed find out how the sequester works and whether it damages the economy in the weeks and months ahead.
