I can't help but notice that 30 days takes us until after the current continuing resolution expires on March 27. Its successor will either include all, some, or none of the sequestration cuts. And the Republicans have been very clear that they will not threaten a government shutdown this time
So I'm wondering if there's a bit of bluff and kabuki going on over the sequester, and that maybe the only thing that matters is the CR. If the government doesn't really make any sequestration cuts until after March 30 anyway, whatever was in the CR would be the law, regardless of the sequester.
On edit: I just saw Oddjob's link in the previous thread about the threat of air traffic controller furloughs. Under the sequester as written, of course that would have to happen: it's written so that agencies have little if any room to pick and choose what they cut. But it's one of those things that slips by you until someone points it out.
But that might be the magic word that gets businesses leaning on the GOP to strike a deal. Throwing a monkeywrench in business travel gets the boardroom's attention. And the sweet part is that not even those with their own private jets would be immune. There's no express lane in the air traffic control system for that Gulfstream.
Other stuff I've been thinking about:
Self-driving cars. Though I haven't said much about it here, I've become mildly obsessed with the subject - and this was even before my Achilles tendon blew out, leaving me unable to drive for the time being. (The recovery's going well, thanks.) I've been hoping they'll be a legal and commercial reality in 10 years, which is about the time my son would be eligible to get his learner's permit. But a self-driving car would have been very handy in recent weeks. I can get around a store well enough if I can get there, but my wife has to drive me on even the simplest errands, plus to my physical therapist's and orthopedist's appointments.
The USPS. Contra Matt Yglesias, whatever may doom the USPS, it won't be because nowadays everyone uses email instead*. Personal correspondence hasn't been the bulk of the Postal Service's business for a long, long time. The real question is, will businesses and nonprofits continue to send out unsolicited mailings via snail mail? My guess is that they will, because it's really hard for them to get people's attention online.
Every business I order something from online asks me for an email address, ditto every nonprofit I contribute money to online. I've got a separate account on Yahoo mail to give to all of these outfits, which I generally ignore absent a particular need, because reading it would be like drinking through a firehose. They can send out a hundred million emails for close to free, but those emails probably don't do much for them now, and the returns will only keep diminishing.
On the other hand, I get a half-dozen pieces of snailmail a day, more or less, and I actually see these. I have to give them at least enough attention to decide whether to throw them away right away. Even if I don't want to send any money to the League of Conservation Voters this month, their name has registered with me.
The truth is that any online medium gets overwhelmed very quickly - email, Facebook, whatever. Snailmail may eventually go away, but it's going to take some time because it has that advantage of tangibility.
So, what's on your minds on this sunny (in the DC area, at least) Sunday afternoon?
*Yglesias' thought, not mine. Even email is starting to become somewhat old-fashioned, as best as I can tell: the kids stay in touch with each other via text and Facebook.