Asking for it

And, getting it.  Barack Obama says, 'They're holding me to my agreement!'

US President Barack Obama has signed into effect a wave of steep spending cuts which he has warned could damage the US economy.

The cuts - known as the sequester and drawn up two years ago - will take $85bn (£56bn) from the US federal budget this year.

As the BBC article points out, this was the President's agreement over a year ago, and now he's stuck with it. 

... Congress and the White House struck a dramatic deal to avoid what was dubbed the "fiscal cliff", that included expiring tax breaks and the sequester.

Republicans agreed to Mr Obama's demand to raise taxes for the rich and Congress postponed the deadline for the budget cuts until 1 March.

Of course, that was before the election.  Now is different!
Unexplained is how a mere $85 billion dollars in a $16 trillion economy will have such a major impact.  Nor, why that $85 billion now won't simply be spent in the private sector rather than in the government sector.