So, Chuck Todd was tweeting earlier today about how the Administration and Congress is having trouble answering questions over how they could proffer $60b for Sandy relief, but find $85b in cuts to be apocalyptic.

@chucktodd Do you mean they can spend $60 billion for Sandy projects w/o a 2nd thought, but $85 billion is the end of govt as we know it?

— Burnham (@NathanABurnham) February 28, 2013

That last RT about $60B for Sandy vs. $85B for rest of gov’t is a question I get a lot. And it’s one the admin and Congress struggle with

— Chuck Todd (@chucktodd) February 28, 2013

Sandy relief actually was $50b - $9b+ was for re-filling the NFIP (flood insurance program). The remainder was to help the disaster stricken areas rebuild and get taxpayers back on their feet. But I digress.

After all, billions of dollars in damage was done to infrastructure and hit the most densely populated area in the nation. That’s a critical part of the national and local economy at stake. The longer the delay in getting aid flowing, the longer the recovery will take and undermine the economic recovery. That means tax revenues will be lower until businesses and individuals are back on their feet.

Consider just one portion of all that damage: Billions in damage was done to the MTA, which moves more than 5 million people daily. NJ Transit moves another 1 million a day. PATH moves another 250,000 a day. Combined, that’s more than all but 18 state populations. Each day.

So, in that respect - yeah, the dollar figures are comparable. The Sandy expenditures were critical in getting the region restored just as avoiding $85 billion in cuts across a wide range of programs can lead to dire consequences.

But in another respect, we’re talking about two completely different things. One is to help restore a damaged region so that it can again fully operate (including getting businesses up and running so that the economy - and the tax revenues - can flow).

The sequester is across the board cuts that don’t care what is cut - everything is cut equally. NOAA budget? It’s cut just as surely as HUD. Or Education or Energy. Or Commerce.

And the sequester, unless a suitable replacement is enacted, will be a cut that happens year after year. The $85b is only the cost during this current fiscal year (or what’s left of it).