(CNSNews.com) - As the deadline draws near for the joint congressional supercommittee to reach an agreement on reducing the deficit by $1.5 trillion over the next decade or face automatic cuts of $1.2 trillion, an analysis showed that even if the automatic spending cuts go into effect, real federal spending will still actually increase.

The so-called "supercommittee" did not reach an agreement on Nov. 21, practically opening the door for the automatic cuts.

But it may be irrelevant, according to Veronique de Rugy, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

She analyzed data from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and showed that, with or without the automatic cuts, federal government spending would still increase by $1.6 trillion between fiscal years 2013 and 2021.

“It’s totally meaningless,” said de Rugy in reference to the supercommittee’s deliberations. “It’s much ado about nothing.”

The Budget Control Act, passed on Aug. 2, raised the debt ceiling (to allow more federal borrowing) and created the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, the supercommittee, responsible for presenting legislation by Nov. 23 to trim the deficit by $1.5 trillion over 10 years. If an agreement is not met of at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction, the automatic cuts (sequestration) will go into effect...