On this weekend’s broadcast of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” CNBC “Closing Bell” host Maria Bartiromo argued that the looming sequestration is really not that big of a deal to the economy and Wall Street investors.
She explained that the dollar value in cuts is not remarkable, adding that the market wouldn’t be trading at such high levels if it felt threatened by a potential impasse.
“From an economic standpoint, $85 billion is not really going to do much in terms of impact,” she said. “I think Wall Street is seeing this as scare tactics, because if the market really believed the economy was going to be paralyzed on March 21, we would not be trading near-record highs. That’s exactly where we are right now.”
Bartiromo said she personally views the massive cuts as a potential threat to national security.
“Nobody likes a sequester,” she continued. “For me it’s more of a national security issue than an economic issue, because they are so blunt — these cuts in defense, as well as discretion. Nobody even knows what missions are going to be impacted. So, from that standpoint, it is something to be said about national security. But from an economic standpoint, I think Wall Street, business has been anticipating this. This is not going to be a shocker, and it certainly is not going to have tremendous impact in terms of broad economic growth.”