Our next issue is the fiscal multiplier: how big a ripple effect will the spending cut have on the rest of the economy?

FORBES: Sequester and the Economic Forecast: Not Much Impact

Remember those new estimates from the IMF of the "fiscal multiplier" - the amount that a given amount of budget cuts can be expected to cut growth?

BBC: Why is America's fiscal cliff more worrying than Europe's?

If you believe the IMF's new, higher estimates for the so-called "fiscal multiplier" (and some do not), a stimulus programme, or a more growth-friendly combination of spending cuts and tax rises - with fewer cuts in public investment - might well have delivered faster growth after 2010, without making the fiscal situation any worse than it already was.

BBC: The triple A versus the triple dip

The latest evidence is that in a downturn the multiplier effect of fiscal tightening can lead to deeper recession, making it even harder to cut the deficit.

ECONOMIST: Charlemagne