"Sequestration" has replaced "fiscal cliff" as the mantra of economic naysayers and talking heads in the media. It really doesn't matter what they call it--the logjam in Washington continues unabated.

Dire predictions of economic doom are again sinking financial markets, and the American public watches as their savings implode due to ineptitude of the people we put into office.

What happens to basic common sense of elected officials after they become mired in the muck of Washington? It is a mystery as confounding as the fiscal mess our country has faced for years: We simply spend far more money than we take in.

Sequestration is flaunted as across-the-board budget cuts of $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years.

This is a drop in the bucket compared with our overall debt of $17 trillion-plus. Our leaders in Washington fight over ways to increase revenue and cut debt while the overall debt piles on and on.

A youngster on an allowance knows this basic premise. We can no longer afford to police the world and engage in social spending of money we don't have. We need to face economic realities of 2013 and beyond.

We all know sequestration will come and go, and the mess will eventually be kicked down the road. That meandering road of Washington indecision is getting shorter and shorter.

Let's all hope that some Washington leadership will eventually emerge to get us on the right track.

It will take decades of sacrifice to make a dent in our debt. Our great-grandchildren and beyond will be the ones who pay for our failures. What a legacy we are leaving. Surely we can do better than the status quo!

Michael B. Goodin

Spotsylvania