Will Congress act to stop economic — and human — calamity?

With Republicans lined up to defeat any replacement that would’ve increased taxes on the wealthiest Americans and corporations, the budget sequester went into place today.

$85 billion will be cut from the federal budget this year if Congress does not act, and next year spending caps will go into place. While some of this cut is from wasteful defense spending, much of it is from productive infrastructure.

Some economists are warning that if the sequester is not cancelled or replaced, that it could over time lead to a recession. This will not only cause job loss and economic calamity, but it also has a human cost.

Last year, medical researchersAi??studied the suicide rate in the United States during the Great Recession that began in 2007 and published their results in The Lancet. They concluded that during the length of that recession, there were an additionalAi??4,750 “excess” suicide deaths that likely would not have occurred if the country was not in such economic turmoil.

This figure should inform policymakers as they seek to stop this sequester before it harms the economy in a severe way.