Captain Obvious has set up shop at the L.A. Times: government cutbacks are costing people jobs. Let's spin it a different way, shall we? Why should money be taken from me for the sole purpose of keeping about 2100 people in Kansas employed? Why should we be forced to pay for things the government admits it doesn't need? I say this as a person with some skin in this game: government cutbacks have already affected where I work, and likely will continue to do so. I am fortunate that they have not affected my job, but am under no illusion as to just how precarious the situation is for any government contractor nowadays.

The simple fact is we just can't afford to do these things anymore. What cannot continue will eventually have to stop. Is it hard? Yes. Is it fair? Usually not. Should we be forced to pay money we don't have to keep it all from happening? The L.A. Times thinks we should. The rest of the country? Well, I guess we'll find out in November.