For writers, the good news is that “sequestration” — a ten-dollar word referring to deep cuts in federal spending that were supposed to kick in Jan. 2 — is increasingly being shortened to “the sequester,” which means the same thing but is easier on the keyboard.

It’s not clear exactly what the two-month postponement will mean. Do Washington bureaucrats now have two months to figure out how to soften the cuts? Or will the sequester bomb simply be dropped March 1 instead of Jan. 2?

We suspect the latter. That would be bad news for people wringing their hands over the possibility of defense cutbacks that could impact local contractors and cost local jobs.

The fiscal cliff deal was, of course, only a stopgap measure. It was designed to extend the so-called Bush tax cuts for most Americans and delay the sequester so that the nation’s wobbly economy wouldn’t take a double whammy of tax hikes and program shutdowns all at once. That goal was achieved, but some painful decisions are just around the corner.

Grab tight and hold on.

— Northwest Florida Daily News