If we don't, we won't be delivering the underlying pension contract, and the pension promise my weekend acquaintance was relying on from his financial advisor is not worth a dime.

FORBES: Opinion

In the US, Republican presidential candidates criticised the administration's decision, with Texas Governor Rick Perry saying in a statement that "promoting special rights for gays in foreign countries is not in America's interests and not worth a dime of taxpayers' money".

BBC: Hillary Clinton declares 'gay rights are human rights'

And so far, we've gotten rebuffed because what Speaker Boehner and the Republicans have said is, we cannot do any revenue, we can't do a dime's worth of revenue.

WHITEHOUSE: President Obama Makes a Statement on the Sequester