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As Washington girds for automatic spending cuts, it is already clear the U.S. is going to pay a price for the political fumbling that led to sequestration.

“It just perpetuates the idea that we just can’t seem to get our act together,” said Adm. William Fallon (Ret.), former Central Command and Pacific Command commander and an American Security Project board member, in an interview. Not only does sequestration impact America’s ability to compete globally, it also undercuts the country’s standing with our allies.

Already, within the international business community there is a perception that America’s competitiveness is slipping. The World Economic Forum ranks the U.S. 7^th on its Global Competitiveness Index, down from 1^st in less than five years.

In an interview, Adm. Fallon pointed out that sequester will likely cost the country more money in long term. Deferring maintenance of ships and aircraft will end up requiring spending two to three times as much money as originally would have needed to be spent, he said.

“It’s wasted money, money not going to the right places. That’s the legacy sequester is going to leave,” he said. Military readiness is also going to be impacted, he noted, echoing a point recently driven home by the Pentagon’s top officers.

Shoring up America’s education system so that it offers a real foundation for success and getting the country’s budget closer to being balanced are critical.

“If we can get a grip on these two things I think we’d be well on the way to putting ourselves back where we ought to be,” he said.

Click below to listen top the interview:

Check out ASP’s White Paper on American Competitiveness:

Read our Blogs and Listen to our other podcasts in the series:

Podcasts:

Sequestration – what’s happening in the States

American Competitiveness and National Security – Podcast

Blog Posts:

Harvard Business School survey finds more pessimism about U.S. competitiveness

Competitiveness – Education: What most schools don’t teach

Sequestration – damage to American competitiveness

Energy R&D Critical to American Competitiveness

Check out our other Podcasts

American Competitiveness and National Security 

Public Diplomacy and National Security

Afghanistan and the US Response

The changing climate and its implications for our nation security

America and Central Asia

Afghanistan

One Year On

Humanitarian Intervention, Energy and Gas Prices, plus the latest on Iran

The Growing Research and Development Gap

2012: Look Ahead

The Future of Afghanistan

Central Asia: What’s Happening and How It Impacts US Foreign Policy

Energy and Nuclear Power

Afghanistan: Are We Winning

Covering Conflict as a Journalist, Libya and Afghanistan

Afghanistan, Central & South Asia – energy, mining and private sector development

Energy Choices, Climate Change and CAFE Fuel Standards

A Farewell from Dr. Jim Ludes and a Discussion on National Security

Rare Earth Metals and Development in Afghanistan

Nuclear Security and the Future of the Marine Corp

Expeditionary Economics and Libya

“Are We Winning?” 2010 Report

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