national budget essay

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President’s Budget Proposal

Congressional budget process.

• Failure to Pass Appropriations

President Biden’s Budget

• Government Spending & Debt
• Government Spending

How the Federal Budget Process Works

Michelle P. Scott is a New York attorney with extensive experience in tax, corporate, financial, and nonprofit law, and public policy. As General Counsel, private practitioner, and Congressional counsel, she has advised financial institutions, businesses, charities, individuals, and public officials, and written and lectured extensively.

On March 28, 2022, the Biden administration formally announced its proposed federal budget for fiscal year (FY) 2023. The budget proposal is the product of work undertaken throughout the executive branch under the direction of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to determine the financial requirements for running the government.

It covers ongoing government activities as well as expenditures for any new programs sought by the president for the government’s next fiscal year, beginning Oct. 1, 2022, and ending Sept. 30, 2023. Upon its release by the White House, the budget is submitted to Congress, initiating a formal legislative process of evaluation, debate, and amendment intended to culminate in the budget’s enactment.

Key Takeaways

• Early in the calendar year, the president prepares the government’s budget for the next fiscal year, beginning Oct. 1.
• The budget always sets out detailed spending allocations for the entire government and sometimes includes tax proposals.
• The president submits the budget to Congress for review and passage by both chambers.
• If a large number of senators object to the budget, they may filibuster a bill—i.e., prevent a vote on it—unless 60 senators vote to end the filibuster and act on its passage.
• If a majority of senators—but fewer than 60—favor the bill, they can use a reconciliation process that allows passage by a majority vote.

A president’s budget provides a projected expenditure figure that reflects the total cost of both discretionary and nondiscretionary government spending, including detailed lists of the expenditures associated with the operations and programs for every federal department and agency. The budget document contains an explanation of the president’s policy goals and proposals. It sets out projections of annual expenditures and tax revenues, as well as the anticipated levels of the federal deficit or surplus for the fiscal year and for the following 10 years. Additional economic analyses often are included.

Some federal programs must have their funding—i.e., appropriations—reenacted each year. These discretionary matters include funds for most government agencies, including defense, as well as a wide range of public services, including research, education, security, economic development, international aid, and more. These annually funded programs account for approximately one-third of the federal budget.

The federal budget contains mandatory spending commitments—entitlements, whose funding constitutes more than 50% of the budget. These expenditures support programs not controlled by annual appropriations, including Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid; the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); federal military and civilian employee retirement benefits; veterans’ disability benefits; and unemployment insurance. Funding for additional programs may have continuing, multiyear funding required by prior-year congressional authorizations.

Some administrations’ budgets combine with expenditure plans a set of tax proposals reflecting the president’s tax policies and providing some or all the revenue needed for new spending programs. The U.S. Department of the Treasury publishes these tax proposals in a Green Book. The Biden Green Book is the first since 2016, when the Obama administration announced tax proposals along with its expenditures for FY 2017.

The submission of the president’s budget to Congress sets the stage for a formal, extended legislative process. Frequently, White House budgets are characterized as DOA—dead on arrival—by legislators belonging to a political party other than the president’s. However, when the same political party controls the executive branch and the two chambers of Congress—as is the case for President Biden’s most recent budget—it creates the prospect that at least some of the president’s proposals will receive serious and respectful—but not necessarily deferential—consideration.

Legislative branch and executive branch officials usually focus most on new spending proposals and changes to ongoing programs, as well as—when included in the budget—proposals to revise taxation.

Congressional Budget Resolution

Once Congress receives the president’s budget, it is analyzed by the staff of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The CBO issues an economic and fiscal evaluation, usually including 10-year projections. Then Congress devises its own budget plan. The Budget Committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives propose budget resolutions that set spending and revenue targets for the next fiscal year.

Unlike the budget submitted by the president, congressional budget resolutions focus exclusively on the amounts to be spent for governmental functions and programs and the amount of revenue to be raised. Expenditures are described both in terms of budget authority, the amount of spending authorized by the resolution, and as outlays, amounts actually spent by the government.

For example, the budget resolution might authorize spending of $100 million for highway repairs and improvements, but the outlay for such highway costs for the fiscal year might be only $50 million because the projects take more than one year to complete.

After the House and the Senate each passes its own budget resolution, the differences are resolved in conference, and the conference version is resubmitted to both chambers. The resolution sets expenditure and revenue levels for various categories of expenditures. These levels govern the allocation of funding for each committee with jurisdiction over specific government programs and operations. Usually, the appropriations are reported for the next five years, although sometimes a longer period is used. The budget resolution is a concurrent resolution of Congress, not a bill to enact or change law, and thus is not sent to the president.

If the House and the Senate fail to adopt a concurrent resolution, as has happened in several recent years, each chamber instead establishes its own budget targets. When agreement is not achieved on a common resolution, the expenditure and revenue levels set in the last agreed-upon budget resolution are used. In several recent congressional sessions, both chambers agreed to a Bipartisan Budget Act that established budget targets for a two-year period, not merely one year.

Once the congressional budget targets are set, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees set an expenditure level for each of their 12 subcommittees. The Appropriations subcommittees—which set the amounts allowed for specific agencies and departments—conduct hearings on specific proposals and divide their allocations among the programs within their jurisdiction. Separately, authorizing committees consider legislation to provide for substantive changes to mandatory programs and for any new programs within their jurisdiction.

Appropriations bills covering mandatory and discretionary spending are drafted, reported to the full Senate or House by their respective committees, and voted on in each chamber. Committee bills reported to the floor of either chamber that exceed the funding level set by the budget resolution may be subject to a point of order and rejected. The House of Representatives requires a majority vote to waive a point of order, but a Senate waiver requires 60 votes.

After each chamber passes its bills, members of both the House and the Senate resolve any differences in conference. Once differences are settled, the agreed-upon conference bill is submitted for final passage in both houses and, when passed, sent to the president for signature or veto.

When tax law changes are proposed as part of the budget, they are referred to the legislative committees with jurisdiction over the federal tax laws—i.e., the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee. These committees conduct hearings, draft the tax bills, and report them to each chamber for passage. Differences in the House and Senate versions are resolved in a conference, and the conference agreement is sent to each chamber for passage, and when passed, to the president.

Reconciliation Process

Congress also can resort to a special process, called reconciliation, to expedite the consideration of budget-related legislation and overcome procedural difficulties, particularly in the Senate, challenging the passage of spending and tax legislation. The reconciliation process usually is prompted by opposition from a significant minority of senators to budget provisions supported by the majority party’s leadership.

Reconciliation permits the passage of bills with a simple majority in the Senate. Thus, it is easier, and usually faster, to advance reconciliation bills than bills considered under the generally applicable Senate rules. The general Senate procedures permit a filibuster rule that allows opponents of a measure to require 60 votes in favor of a measure to allow its consideration and enactment.

The reconciliation process permits the inclusion of multiple provisions—generally within the jurisdiction of several committees—in a single bill. To use the reconciliation process, legislators must include a reconciliation directive in the budget resolution. The directive, a set of instructions, requires that the Appropriations Committees report bills that meet specified spending and/or revenue targets to the full chambers by a set date. If the targets are not met, then Budget Committee members, or others, are entitled to amend the bills to conform to the directive.

Then, the Budget Committee combines all the bills in a single reconciliation bill that is subject to only limited amendments and is entitled to an up-or-down vote. A House-Senate conference committee resolves any differences in the two chambers’ bills; each chamber votes on passage of the conference bill. When both approve it, the bill is sent to the president for signing.

Prior to the Senate vote, however, any extraneous provision—i.e., one not related to the bill’s purpose—can be removed under the “Byrd Rule,” if a point of order is sustained. Extraneous matters include provisions that do not affect spending or revenue raising, fall outside the reporting committee’s jurisdiction, exceed or fall short of the committee’s targets set under the reconciliation directive, increase deficits in years beyond the subject fiscal year without including “pay-fors” to offset future years’ spending, or change Social Security programs. A waiver of the extraneous-provision rule requires at least 60 senators’ approval.

Failure to Pass Appropriations by Start of Fiscal Year

While Oct. 1, the beginning of a new fiscal year, creates a natural deadline for completion of the budget and appropriations process, enactment of all appropriations legislation by that date is rare. Usually, if one or more department or agency funding bills are still pending, then Congress will pass one or more continuing resolutions to maintain government funding for such functions at their current levels and to avoid funding gaps that require them to shut down.

Since the 1990s, Congress has failed to pass a continuing resolution on several occasions, resulting in funding gaps and shutdowns. Although most funding gaps and shutdowns have lasted only a few hours or a day or two, several recent shutdowns have been lengthy.

In 1995, a dispute between then-President Bill Clinton and Congress over the source of budgetary estimates for FY 1996 resulted in a funding gap of 21 days before a compromise was reached. During the Obama administration, a 16-day gap occurred in 2013 when Congress refused to fully fund certain FY 2014 programs, including the Affordable Care Act; ultimately, a continuing resolution deferred the issue. The largest number of funding gaps, five in all, as well as the longest shutdown, occurred during the Trump administration. The record shutdown lasted from Dec. 21, 2018, until Jan. 25, 2019, a total of 34 days.

President Biden’s proposed budget would spend $6 trillion and raise $4.1 trillion in revenue in FY 2022, which begins Oct. 21, 2021. Its complementary expenditure and revenue measures represent the first time since 2016, when the Obama administration issued its FY 2017 budget, that a president’s budget is accompanied by proposed tax law revisions. Together, the Biden tax and spending proposals are intended both to support and effectuate the administration’s policy goals.

Biden’s budget proposal would increase the level of nondefense discretionary spending, which has declined markedly for over a decade. It includes the president’s American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan, as well as expenditures already enacted in the American Rescue Plan, such as the tax credits and other relief provisions that extend into FY 2022.

The budget reflects the White House’s expansive definition of infrastructure with its plan to invest not only in traditional roads, ports, rail, and air facilities but also in programs that prepare and support individuals through education, job training, and improvements to housing, water systems, support for a “care economy,” and more.

Some legislators object to the spending required by the Biden administration’s budget and strongly oppose its nontraditional infrastructure proposal. A bipartisan legislative group successfully negotiated with Biden an alternative proposal solely for traditional infrastructure. At the same time, Biden indicated that he will continue to seek passage of his plans for nontraditional infrastructure.

It is not clear if the bipartisan proposal will attract a sufficient number of Senate supporters to avoid a filibuster. In that case, enactment of both the bipartisan infrastructure proposal and the administration’s nontraditional infrastructure plans may require use of the reconciliation process.  

On the revenue side, the Biden budget would increase the corporate tax rate; impose a corporate minimum tax, perhaps in alignment with a global corporate minimum tax under development by other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member states; increase taxes on both investment income and long-term capital gains for individuals with incomes of $400,000 or more; and make the recently increased child tax credit and expanded earned income credit (EIC) permanent.

The proposal would cut back tax benefits for carried interests and most like-kind exchanges and would revise the taxation of foreign income to discourage corporate profit-shifting offshore to low- or no-tax jurisdictions while encouraging investments in U.S. jobs, clean energy, and economic development. The Biden administration aims to avoid any tax increase on individuals whose incomes are less than $400,000.

The House passed the FY 2022 omnibus appropriations bill on March 9, 2022, and the Senate passed it a day later March 10. The President signed it into law on March 15, the same day when the final FY 2022 continuing resolution expired.

The White House. “ Fact Sheet: The President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2023 .”

USA.gov. " Budget of the U.S. Government ."

House Committee on the Budget. " Budget Reconciliation: The Basics ."

U.S. Government Publishing Office. “ Budget of the U.S. Government: Fiscal Year 2022 .”

Congressional Budget Office. " Mandatory Spending Options ."

U.S. Department of the Treasury. “ Revenue Proposals .”

U.S. House of Representatives. " Party Breakdown ."

U.S. Senate. " Party Division ."

Congressional Budget Office. " Products ."

Congressional Budget Office. " An Analysis of the President’s 2023 Budget ."

U.S. House of Representatives. " Budget Act Points of Order Applicable in the House of Representatives ."

U.S. Senate Committee on the Budget. " Budget Points of Order ."

U.S. House Committee on the Budget. “ Budget Reconciliation: The Basics .”

U.S. Senate. “ About Filibusters and Cloture .”

History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives. “ Funding Gaps and Shutdowns in the Federal Government .”

U.S. Congress. “ H.R.1319 — American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 .”

National Conference of State Legislatures. " 2022 Omnibus Appropriations Bill: A Summary of Provisions by Federal Agency ."

Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. " Appropriations Watch: FY 2022 ."

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• Introduction

General considerations

• Components of the budget
• The budgetary process

government budget

government budget , forecast by a government of its expenditures and revenues for a specific period of time. In national finance , the period covered by a budget is usually a year, known as a financial or fiscal year , which may or may not correspond with the calendar year. The word budget is derived from the Old French bougette (“little bag”). When the British chancellor of the Exchequer makes his annual financial statement , he is said to “open” his budget, or receptacle of documents and accounts.

Role of the budget

Traditional functions.

Government budgetary institutions in the West grew up largely as a result of the struggle for power between the legislative and executive branches of government. With the decline of the feudal system , it became necessary for kings and princes to obtain resources for their ventures from taxation rather than dues. With the disappearance of the old feudal bonds, taxpayers demanded to be consulted before they were taxed. In England this was written into Magna Carta (1215), which stated:

No scutage or aid shall be imposed in our kingdom unless by common counsel of our kingdom, except for ransoming our person, for making our eldest son a knight, and for once marrying our eldest daughter, and for these only a reasonable aid shall be levied.

This related to taxes only, not expenditures. For centuries Parliament seemed content to restrict the amounts that the sovereign levied while letting him spend the money as he pleased. Only after the controversies of the 17th century culminated in the Glorious Revolution (1688–89) and the Bill of Rights did Parliament extend its concern from taxation to the question of expenditure control.

The histories of many countries have turned on financial crises. In France, for instance, the struggle between the monarchy and the nobility over control of tax revenues was one of the causes of the Revolution of 1789 that led to the overthrow of both the monarchy and the nobility.

The U.S . budget system also evolved out of controversy. In the early days of the republic there was a dispute between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson as to the amount of discretion that the executive branch should exercise in the spending of public funds. Jefferson’s victory enabled Congress to assert its authority by making appropriations so highly specific as to hinder executive action . Had Hamilton won, the treasury would have attained extraordinary power in relation both to Congress and to the president.

Modern functions

In the 20th century a high proportion of economic activity is controlled, directly or indirectly, by various levels of government (federal, or central, state, local, etc.). Thus the budget has taken on a number of other functions as well as the simple monitoring of the overall revenue and expenditure of government. Expenditure programs are now planned in considerable detail, but the sheer scale of public spending raises major control problems, and varying systems of control have been tried in different countries. Taxation is used not only to raise revenue but also to redistribute income and to encourage or discourage certain activities. Government borrowing, in order to finance recurring deficits or wars, is so substantial that budgetary policy has important effects on capital markets and on interest and credit generally. Because the budget is now so important to national economies, a number of different procedures for deciding on the structure of the budget have been developed, and these vary considerably between countries. In some, the United Kingdom , for example, most planning is carried out in secret by ministers and civil servants, and public and parliamentary debate is minimal; while in others, the United States , for example, there is lengthy debate during which the budget can be changed significantly. The different levels of government complicate the budgetary process with differing spheres of influence and control over particular items of expenditure.

The budget has also come to be used to achieve specific goals of economic policy . It was long recognized that government borrowing could have important effects on the rest of the economy. As the scale of government activity increased, the levels of expenditure and taxation were seen to have substantial direct effects on the total demand for goods and services in the economy. This raised the possibility that by changing these levels the government could use its fiscal policy to achieve full employment and reduce economic fluctuations. This stabilization function has been used by many countries, with varying degrees of success, to expand the economy out of recession and to control inflationary pressures. In the United Kingdom, for example, postwar policy involved a sequence of “stop-go” moves by government for stabilization; unfortunately these often occurred too late and had unintended destabilizing effects.

As well as affecting the overall economy, the budget may have significant (intended and unintended) effects in specific areas. Taxes affect incentives to work or to consume, while taxes, benefits, and expenditures all affect the distribution of income. In this manner, budgets, particularly those that cause major changes, have considerable political as well as economic impact.

The accounting functions of the budget

Traditionally the budget is presented to allow scrutiny (by taxpayers, voters, and the legislature) of the resources raised by government and the uses to which these will be put. The publication of a budget thus performs the role of generating accountability for the actions of government at various levels. Historically, the focus of budgets has been to ensure that expenditures and revenues are properly authorized; more recently, the budget has been developed as a framework within which complex decisions on the allocation of resources can be made more effectively.

Federal Budget Simulation

About this resource.

Topics:   Civic Education and Engagement; Persuasive Writing and Speaking

Grade Level:  Grades 9-12

Subject Areas:  Civics and US Government; Economics

Time Required:  3-4 hours. This lesson plan is designed for four to five class periods of 50 minutes. It can be adapted, however, to accommodate other schedules in either an in-person or virtual format.

Introduction

In this lesson plan, high school students debate our nation’s priorities by establishing their own “simulated” federal budgets. After analyzing the proposed FY 2022 discretionary budget, students design a FY 2023 budget with a group of their peers. Through the simulation, students will learn the importance of the budgeting process and that decisions concerning how our government spends its money form the basis of most national government policy.

This lesson plan is designed for 4 to 5 class periods of 50 minutes. It can be adapted, however, to accommodate other schedules in either an in-person or virtual format. This program can also be adapted for a school-wide event, with teachers facilitating groups of 10-15 students in their budgeting sessions.

Students will:

• evaluate how money had been allocated in the proposed FY 2022 discretionary budget.
• consider the additional needs of our nation in FY 2023.
• discuss the programs and issues that they think are important and consider how much money should be allocated to those programs.
• discuss the pros and cons of deficit spending.
• design their FY 2023 discretionary budgets.
• present their rationales for their budgets to the larger group.

Preparation

Handouts (all included in the  downloadable pdf ): 

• Understanding the Federal Budget
• What Role Should the Government Play in the Economy?
• Rules of the Game
• Functional Areas with Budget Details
• National Defense Spending
• Special Interest Groups Requests
• Tally Sheet

Additional Materials:

• Game Board (to be enlarged to 11” X 17”)
• 167 white poker chips and 10 red poker chips
• A "virtual" version of the Game Board is available here .

1. For homework, have students read  Understanding the Federal Budget  and answer the reading comprehension questions.

2. Discuss the reading in class and the process of federal budgeting.

3. For homework, have students read  What Role Should the Government Play in the Economy?  and ask them to provide a written response to the question “What is your view of the   government’s role in the economy?”

4. Discuss the reading and their responses to the question. Highlight differences between discretionary and mandatory spending. (20 minutes)

5. Provide students with the Rules of the Game handout. Discuss the rules and explain that students will only be dealing with government spending, not taxes—and only with discretionary spending, not mandatory spending. Remind students that at the end of the group budgeting, they will need to be able to explain their budgets. (What programs were they eliminating by cutting a particular functional category? What programs were they enriching by adding to a particular functional category?) (30 minutes) Have students review the materials for homework and ask them to be prepared to discuss and create their budgets the next day.

6. Divide students into groups of 5-6. Supply each group with:

(a) a game board and poker chips (or virtual game board)

(b) Functional Areas with Budget Details handout

(c) National Defense Spending handout

(d) Special Interest Groups Requests

(e) Tally Sheet

7. Ask students to consider first how the funds were allocated in President Biden's proposed FY 2022 budget. Do they agree with his priorities? What would they like to see changed? What categories/programs are important to them?

8. Ask students to read the Special Interest Groups Requests and consider whether or not it would influence their budgeting decisions.

9. Have students reconfigure the budget to represent their own priorities. As you monitor each group’s progress, make sure they know that they will need to justify their budgeting decisions to the rest of the class. When they are finished, have them fill in the tally sheet and submit it to you.

If students need more time to budget, you can have them continue their discussions the following day.

10. Share the budgets of all the groups with the class, and have students discuss their decisions.

11. For a follow-up to the students’ budgeting, have them consider the following questions:

     A. What programs did they choose to cut? Why did they choose to cut those programs over others?

        1) How will the program cuts they have made affect specific groups (the elderly, students, environmentalists, people with low incomes, foreign aid recipients, etc.)?

        2) Have them write a letter to the head of an organization whose funding will be cut and explain why they have cut the funding.

     B. What programs did they choose to enrich? Why did they choose to enrich those programs over others?

        (1) How will the programs they have enriched affect specific groups (the elderly, students, environmentalists, people with low incomes, foreign aid recipients, etc.)?

        (2) Have them write a press release to be read by the president’s press secretary, describing the reasons they have enriched these programs.

     C. What are the tradeoffs they foresee in diminishing some programs while protecting or enriching others? What might be some of the political “fallout” of their decisions? How might they address this “fallout”? Have students write a brief paper on these tradeoffs and respond to the potential political “fallout.”

     D. Were there any arguments made by their classmates during the budgeting workshop that surprised them? Why?

Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2022   Most of the figures used for this budget simulation program were taken from the Outlays section of the Analytical Perspectives, Table 20-1 – Budget Authority and Outlays by Function, Category and Program .

Summary Tables, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2022 Some of the figures used in the “Understanding the Federal Budget” handout were taken from the Summary Tables in President Biden’s proposed 2022 budget (p. 40; Table S-4: Proposed Budget by Category ).

Other Valuable URLs

Policy Basics: Introduction to the Federal Budget Process The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities provides this introduction to the laws and procedures for the Congress to create a federal budget.

National Priorities Project This organization provides analyses of federal data “so people can prioritize and influence how their tax dollars are spent.” Their website includes a summary of the federal budget process: https://www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/federal-budget-process/

The Concord Coalition This organization describes itself as “dedicated to educating the public about the causes and consequences of federal budget deficits, the long-term challenges facing America's unsustainable entitlement programs, and how to build a sound economy for future generations.”

America's Historical Struggle With Debt and Taxes This 10-minute video from the PBS NewsHour (2012), includes Paul Solman’s interview with Simon Johnson. It’s dated, but interesting.

'Red Ink': Understanding Why the U.S. Has So Much Debt This is Paul Solman’s 2012 interview with The Wall Street Journal's David Wessel about his new book "Red Ink," a primer to the budget. It is also dated, but interesting.

Status of Appropriations Legislation for FY 2022 This web page can help you keep track of what parts of the FY 2022 budget have been passed, and what is pending.

Bureau of the Public Debt This U.S. Department of the Treasury website includes a link to the most current calculation of the U.S. debt.

Foreign Assistance This government website provides maps and data that show how and where our foreign assistance dollars are spent.

Connections to Curriculum (Standards)

Common Core State Standards

• ELA College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language
• ELA – Reading Informational Texts, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Language, and Literacy in History/Social Studies for grades 9-10 and 11-12

C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards

• Discipline 1 - Developing questions and planning inquiries
• Discipline 2 - Applying disciplinary concepts and tools (Civics and Economics)
• Discipline 3 - Evaluating sources and using evidence
• Discipline 4 - Communicating conclusions and taking informed action

National Council of Teachers of English : Standards 1, 3, 4, 5, 6

Massachusetts History and Social Science Framework

• GOV.T1: Foundations of government in the United States
• GOV.T4: : Political parties, interest groups, media, and public policy
• ECON.T4: The role of government

Massachusetts English Language Arts Framework

• Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language

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National Budget Simulation

Students will be able to:

• Identify and explain major categories of federal outlays and revenues.

National Standards in Economics

State Standards

Common Core State Standards

In this economics lesson, students will revise a federal budget to understand its contents.

Explain to students that today they serve as an Economic Advisers to the President of the United States, who is trying to reduce the national deficit.  The new president has been elected on the promise of fiscal restraint. She has promised the voters she will not raise taxes, and will not reduce Social Security or Medicare. She has promised interest groups that she will not reduce Commerce Department spending. By law she must pay the net interest owed on the debt. The President’s budget is projected to be balanced, and she promises to avoid  a deficit unless the U.S. faces a recession or war.

Show students the 2017 federal budget as presented here, called the National Budget Simulator . Review with students the various categories in the national budget.  Ask students on the outlays side, what are the top four categories?  They are Social Security, Defense, Medicare, and Health. Explain that these are examples of two important types of outlays:  discretionary and non-discretionary.

“Discretionary” applies to items that the government can change directly, e.g., to the defense category because, for example, the president can recommend and Congress can vote agreement to buy fewer military airplanes.

“Non-discretionary” applies to items whose spending level is not set directly by Congress, but must be done by changing the rules of payment.  For example, the government can’t vote to reduce outlays for social security without changing the rules about who will receive this and how much they will receive.  Congress can change both types of outlays, but must use different approaches to adjusting budgets for discretionary and non-discretionary items.  Ask students: which might be easier to change with accuracy? Answer: Discretionary can be controlled directly and is thus usually easier to change.

Continue by stating that “Net Interest,” interest payment on the government debt, is a different type of payment because it cannot be changed by Congress in the current session.  The amount depends on the level of government debt, which is based on the accumulation of annual deficits over many years, plus the levels of interest rates on that debt.  Thus, students will not be considering a change in net interest.

Note: “Undistributed offsetting receipts” consist of collections from the public that are typically market type, for example, proceeds from postage stamp sales, admission charges to national parks, etc.  Rather than putting these on the revenue side, they are income that is typically deducted from the spending side.

Next, show students the “Revenues” side of the budget.  Ask students: What are the two major sources of revenue for the government? Answer: Individual income taxes and social security payments.

Show students the effects of making a change in the outlays on the National Budget Simulator.  Pick any outlay category and increase it by 10% to show students how this affects that category, the overall level of spending, and the budget deficit.  Do this for another category showing that the effects of several changes are shown in the totals.

Then pick a category from the revenue side and change it (say, decrease) by 15% and show students again how that effects overall revenue and the deficit.

Explain to students that several unfortunate events have created problems for the hopes of balancing the budget. In a surprise action from abroad, the United States is in danger of a military attack — a turn of events not anticipated in the current budget. At the same time, lingering effects of a past recession reduce the government’s tax revenues and force the government to maintain high spending on unemployment benefits, welfare, housing assistance, food stamps, and other need-based programs. Because of these issues on both spending and revenue sides, the nation’s current deficit level of $665.4  billion will be difficult to maintain.

As a result of the new military threat, Congress passes legislation to increase military spending by 20 percent to pay for increased security within the U.S. and to prepare for a prolonged military response. Ask students: Is this discretionary or non-discretionary outlays? Answers: Discretionary because Congress changed the amount directly. The president signs this bill into law, increasing the projected deficit to $758.1 billion.

The president is committed to their campaign promise not to worsen the deficit in order to maintain support for her reelection; however, because of the military threat and the lingering recession’s impact, she has set a new deficit guideline:  to keep the deficit at or below $730.0 billion.

She would like to protect the programs she promised to protect, and she promised not to raise taxes, so her remaining option is to cut spending on other programs. The president turns to you, her trusted economic adviser, for help. Note: While some numbers in this scenario reflect actual data, others are hypothetical for the purposes of this exercise. The basic budget figures are actual Office of Management and Budget data for 2017, including outlays and revenues of 2017.  The changes associated with policies are created and constructed for this lesson.

Group Activity

Distribute a copy of the National Budget Simulator Instructions . Be sure to review the instructions together as a class prior to releasing the students to work on the computers. Have students work with a partner on one computer or students can work on their own computers with a partner next to them. Another alternative is to have students work individually. Have students follow the instructions on the worksheet. By the end of this group activity, students should have a printed copy of their budget.

Individual Activity

Point out to students that it is important to look beyond some of the rhetoric on government taxation and spending to determine whether the public services that government provides are valuable.  To the extent that such services are worth paying for, the only way to do so is ultimately with tax revenue.  Consequently, when thinking about the costs that taxes impose, it is essential to balance those costs against the benefits the nation receives from public services.

Go through the major categories of outlays with the students; for each category, ask who selected that category for program cuts of over 7%. Ask students how that might harm the program? Have students answer the following questions individually on their printed budget plan:

• Describe the benefits for each of these programs
• Describe the major consequences of cutting the program.  Who is harmed?  Is anyone benefited?
• Describe the process of selecting among alternatives in terms of “trade-offs” and in terms of making choices that yield the highest benefit or the least loss.

Review their answers as a class. After students have reflected upon their answers, instruct students to individually go back to their computers to update their budget. When the students have reached their target budget, have them print out their results.

Have students complete National Budget Simulation Handout as a way to assess their decision-making skills in this activity.

Have students work in groups or conduct class discussion based on the following:

• If you had the opportunity to raise taxes and/or cut programs, which policy or combination of cut spending- raise taxes policy would you choose?
• Among the programs you cut in the first scenario, are there any you would keep and raise taxes instead?
• If so which, and how does that improve the outcome for the citizens?

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National Budget Simulator Instructions

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• | November 12, 2015

The Evolution of Federal Budget Rules and the Effects on Fiscal Policy

How informal norms have trumped formal constraints.

• Peter T. Calcagno
• Edward Lopez
• Download Publication Summary PDF
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A new study published by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University argues that, beginning late in the 19th century, the informal rules that govern fiscal policy began to reward policymakers for increasing spending—even for increasing it beyond the capacity of federal revenues, and therefore at the cost of chronic deficits. Despite numerous legislative attempts to constrain spending over the past 40 years, these informal rules have trumped formal constraints, and the deficit problem has marched steadily on.

Most discussion of federal government deficits and debt focuses on recent decades and formal budget rules, such as the debt ceiling, sequestration, and balanced budget amendments. However, the underlying deficit problem goes back much further and is driven in part by changes to informal rules.

With this evolution of federal budget rules in mind, today’s reform discussions must address the deeper problem of informal rules driving systematic deficits and unsustainable debt. Otherwise, formal restraints will not work.

Below is a summary of this analysis. To read the entire study and learn more about its authors, Peter T. Calcagno and Edward J. López, please see “ The Evolution of Federal Budget Rules and the Effects on Fiscal Policy: How Informal Norms Have Trumped Formal Constraints .”

TODAY’S FISCAL CHALLENGES

The federal government is suffering from an unsustainable fiscal condition. Under conservative assumptions, the Congressional Budget Office projects that, after temporary, near-term declines, federal budget deficits will increase to 150 percent of their current magnitude by 2023. Federal debt held by the public will exceed $18 trillion within that same decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office’s estimates, and the outlook is even worse if assumed budget disciplines are relaxed.

• Overspending is driving the long-term fiscal problem more than inadequate taxation. Federal revenues and spending both averaged about 3 percent of GDP from 1792 to 1929. But from 1930 to 2013, average expenditures jumped to 18.5 percent while average revenues increased only to 16 percent. More recent decades show a worsening of the imbalance. Since 1952, for example, federal spending has settled into an average of about 19 percent of GDP, while tax revenue has stayed at 16 percent. The obvious result of this imbalance is chronic deficits.
• At the same time, fiscal policymaking has become more complex and fragmented and less predictable. As deficits spiked in the first few years after 2000, for example, fiscal policymakers increasingly relied on emergency and supplemental spending bills that evaded spending limits and the formal budget process, while also enacting temporary tax provisions that raised uncertainty in markets and compromised economic growth.
• The growth of mandatory spending on entitlement programs—which run automatically without annual review or appropriation—has exerted even more deficit pressure, as has the burden of debt service. From 1962 to 2014, mandatory spending has increased from 25 percent to 65 percent of the budget, while discretionary spending has correspondingly dropped from 68 to 34 percent. This trend is projected to continue, with mandatory spending expected to exceed three-fourths of the budget by 2020, according to Office of Management and Budget projections.

THE EVOLUTION OF FISCAL POLICY RULES: KEY SHIFTS IN NORMS

Beginning late in the 19th century, the federal government’s fiscal policy has been driven by two gradual changes to informal rules: a shift away from the balanced-budget norm and the emergence of the career politician.

• By the early decades of the 20th century, fiscal policy was drawing away from the balanced-budget norm that had prevailed since America’s founding, and toward using the budget to underwrite a stronger safety net for economic security and to manage macroeconomic performance. As the decades passed, these two sets of expectations exerted pressure for increased federal spending, not only during times of national emergencies, but also under ordinary conditions. This led to the acceptance of increased federal spending even at the cost of deficits, rather than balanced budgets, as the new policy norm.
• During this time, norms in the government were shifting as well. The elected class mutated from a high-turnover group of temporary officeholders into a body of career politicians. In addition, the organization of Congress, political parties, and the executive branch led to a diffusion of budget access and authority within government.

The shift from the old balanced-budget norm to the modern deficit-as-policy norm, coupled with the professionalization of elected office, began to exert enormous pressure on policymakers to increase federal spending. They responded by codifying these new norms into formal law, laying the groundwork for chronic deficits and unsustainable debt.

FROM CODIFYING DEFICITS TO CONSTRAINING OVERSPENDING: 

EVOLUTION OF THE FORMAL RULES

Following these two shifts of informal fiscal norms, numerous changes to the formal rules of fiscal policy emerged. The salient theme in the evolution of formal rules has been the struggle to balance the need for fiscal discipline against the demands of a professionalized government expected to use its budget to promote economic security and macroeconomic management.

• At the household level, the single most profound change came with the 1935 Social Security Act. Over time, the act centralized responsibility for public assistance and social insurance programs, and started a permanent demand for increased spending on a comprehensive range of social insurance and public assistance programs.
• Other policy initiatives expanded the government’s role in trying to boost economic performance. The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 centralized responsibility for financial stability and the supply of liquidity during financial crises. The 1946 Employment Act set the objectives of stabilizing unemployment, output, and inflation. The Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act of 1978 (commonly known as the Humphrey-Hawkins Act) extended the Federal Reserve’s macroeconomic goals.
• In addition, the economics profession began to support the use of budget deficits as a policy tool for achieving macroeconomic stability and avoiding a repeat of the Great Depression. By the mid-20th century, the mainstream positions in academia, the media, and the intelligentsia had accepted the case for countercyclical policy articulated in the 1930s by John Maynard Keynes.
• In the early 1970s, following a standoff between Congress and President Nixon, lawmakers tried to coordinate their budget activities with the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which put the final touches on the modern budget process. The Budget Act built on the existing committee structures in the House and Senate, but created the Budget Committees to supervise and coordinate the budget process, and a Congressional Budget Office to provide Congress with its own independent fiscal analysis.
• Because the Congressional Budget Act repeatedly failed to control fiscal outcomes, Congress made numerous other attempts to constrain spending. These included the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981—with its explicit goal of reducing spending—the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990, and the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993. These attempts to constrain spending added layers of complexity to the fiscal policy process.
• Yet despite these efforts, every annual budget since 1974 has experienced a deficit, with the exception of 1998–2001. In sum, by the time Congress was beginning to take serious steps to rein in the budget, the systematic tendencies toward deficit-financed overspending had already been cemented into place.

WHY THE DEFICIT-AS-POLICY NORM TRUMPS FORMAL SPENDING CONSTRAINTS

The diffusion of spending authority among numerous committees of Congress has led to higher transfers, deficits, and debt. This, coupled with other forces, has ingrained the deficit-as-policy norm in federal budgeting.

• Each committee allocates funds for its segment of the budget—e.g., agriculture, defense, commerce—but when the several appropriations are aggregated, the sum is greater than anyone intended and more than available revenues can offset. Thus, the federal government generates deficits as a matter of routine, regardless of whether emergency conditions are at hand.
• Meanwhile, safety net programs for the elderly, children, and the unemployed have evolved into permanent entitlements that now absorb two-thirds of federal spending. Relief of economic hardship has motivated historic expansions of unemployment benefits, food assistance, and other safety-net programs.
• Economic experts argue that increased deficit spending is needed to promote economic growth and that more spending carries only minor tradeoffs because Treasury yields and debt service levels remain low. This deficit-as-policy norm also has effectively granted any group with a good cause access to the federal budget.
• On the financing side, there is intense pressure to avoid the burden of financing additional expenditures. The lack of future taxpayers’ representation in current policy choices creates a bias in favor of financing current spending through future, rather than current, taxes—that is, a bias toward debt-finance. In the era of professional politics, politicians have a career interest in taking credit for the benefits of additional budget outlays. This incentive creates a systematic tendency toward increased spending, both in good times and in bad.

LESSONS FOR REFORM

The deficit-as-policy norm and the professionalization of politics have become ingrained in American politics and will be difficult to reverse. Serious reform discussions must focus on the fundamental, underlying institutional rules of the fiscal game, including and especially the relevant informal rules. Only then will the people with a seat at the table have the incentive to act systematically to promote fiscal discipline.

Formal constraints on spending—such as a balanced budget rule or fixed spending limits—may be helpful, but will not work unless the public begins to change its view that programs such as Social Security and health care are entitlements. This is a huge challenge that requires gradual changes in attitudes, but the reality is that meaningful fiscal reform does not stand a chance without some further evolution of norms beyond deficit-as-policy.

Reform discussions must start by recognizing that current fiscal challenges are rooted in these deep institutional changes. Effective reforms must focus on institutional rules, both formal legislation and informal norms. Most importantly, changes in public attitudes are needed to move the American political culture more toward a balanced-budget norm—recognizing that the abilities of the federal government are limited, as should be its spending authority.

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Balanced National and Federal Budget

Taking the position of supporting a balanced national budget, the policy is essential to protect future generations from huge debts. A growing federal debt can burden future generations, causing low national savings and reduced incomes (Asatryan et al., 2018). There will be high-interest payments that could make taxes rise causing a significant cut on spending. With a substantial financial burden to manage, future generations might experience the problem of responding to emerging problems and economic issues such as lack of funds. Hence, a balanced national budget must be encouraged aiming to protect the future. Although a balanced budget has the gain of protecting the future and promoting growth, this will result in losses in the economy because policymakers would be forced to reduce spending. (Dosi et al., 2019). Additionally, there might be a need to cut social security and other programs such as Medicare, which is hurting citizens. Additionally, interest rates charges from huge loaners or lenders could be saved.

Taking the position of supporting a balanced federal budget, the approach is vital to help end unhelpful programs acquired in the past. Government budgets such as capital investments would need to be balanced annually while considering future outcomes (Mikesell, 2018). A balanced federal budget ensures the government does not spend excessively and allows concentration or allocation of funds in areas that are needed most (Yushkova et al., 2016). On the contrary, there is legitimate borrowing at the federal level, for example, to support infrastructure, which helps boost future growth. Additionally, it might be noted that a balanced federal budget might lead to an undercut on social security and other government guarantees. The US government should learn to accept deficits, for instance, in the national emergency time but later ensures revenues generated are higher enough to offset the financial burden caused (Veynbender & Fadeeva, 2019). A federal budget is an important policy tool for the government to reflect on economic decisions.

Asatryan, Z., Castellón, C., & Stratmann, T. (2018). Balanced budget rules and fiscal outcomes: Evidence from historical constitutions. Journal of Public Economics , 167 , 105-119. Web.

Dosi, C., Moretto, M., & Tamborini, R. (2019). Balanced-budget fiscal stimuli of investment and welfare value . Institute-Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich. Web.

Mikesell, J. L. (2018). Fiscal administration: Analysis and applications for the public sector (10th ed.). Wadsworth.

Veynbender, T., & Fadeeva, A. (2019). State Budgets and Leading Approaches for Balanced State Finance. In Sustainable Leadership for Entrepreneurs and Academics (pp. 183-189). Springer.

Yushkova, O. O., Kirina, L. S., Malis, N. I., Mandroshchenko, O. V., & Nazarova, N. A. (2018). Tax revenues and balanced budgets. European Research Studies Journal, 16, 675-685. Web.

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Home — Essay Samples — Economics — Budgeting — The Effect Of ACA Budget On The American National Budget

The Effect of Aca Budget on The American National Budget

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Positions on whether the Constitution should be amended to require a balanced budget reflect opposing views about whether such an amendment would be an appropriate solution to the problem of persistent federal deficits and growing federal debt.

• Proponents of a constitutional amendment hold the view that future generations have a right to be protected from debts accumulated by earlier generations. Because the Congress and President are unwilling or unable to rein in the debt through normal legislative procedures, they argue that only a constitutional constraint will be strong enough to rein in lawmakers' tendency to act in fiscally irresponsible ways.
• Opponents to a constitutional amendment argue that it could limit the ability of future policymakers to use fiscal policy to counteract recessions or respond to national emergencies. Moreover, they argue that the cause of our fiscal imbalances is a lack of political will, not an inadequate process. That means that a balanced budget amendment would fail to achieve its objectives. Policymakers would look for ways to evade its restrictions and, in the process, could end up devaluing our Constitution and disrupting federal budgeting and policymaking.

WHAT IS A BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT?

In its simplest form, a balanced budget amendment would add a budget rule to the Constitution that would require federal spending not to exceed federal receipts. The amendment would make it unconstitutional for the federal government to run annual budget deficits.

Most amendment proposals go further than requiring a balanced budget or budget surpluses. Some of the most frequent additional elements are:

• A requirement that the President submit a balanced budget to the Congress;
• Provisions that allow some flexibility in times of war or economic recession provided that a supermajority (typically three-fifths) of the members of the Congress vote in favor of a waiver;
• A provision requiring a supermajority vote of both houses of Congress in order to raise the debt ceiling;
• A cap on total spending (as a percentage of gross domestic product or GDP) unless waived by a supermajority of both houses;
• A limit on the total level of revenues (as a percentage of GDP) unless waived by a supermajority of both houses;
• A provision to prevent the courts from enforcing the amendment through tax increases;
• A provision assigning the Congress the responsibility to enforce the amendment through legislation.

HOW WOULD A BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT WORK IN PRACTICE?

Supporters of a balanced budget amendment argue that respect for the Constitution will create strong political pressure to rein in deficits and impose needed accountability for irresponsible fiscal policy. Because few elected officials would be willing to face constituents with a budget that violates the Constitution, opposing parties would be forced to compromise and pass legislation that would meet the constitutional requirement.

Opponents argue that the political pressure could lead to budget gimmicks that would meet the letter, but not the spirit, of the law. Opponents also contend that it could hamper the ability of the federal government to respond quickly and effectively to economic recessions and national emergencies.

In evaluating a balanced budget amendment, there are four types of practical questions that policy makers and the public should consider.

• First, how would the use of estimates of outlays and revenues affect federal budgeting? Nearly every balanced budget amendment allows the Congress to use estimates of outlays and receipts to plan for the next year's budget. But there has been little discussion about what would happen when actual budgetary outcomes differ from the estimates, as they always do. Would there be a "look-back" provision to make up for unexpected deficits in prior years through automatic, across-the-board cuts in current-year spending? If so, the remedy could be disruptive to government's performance if resources are withdrawn without allowing agencies sufficient time to plan. Or, would the amendment only require that the lawmakers adopt a balanced budget and allow them to ignore any deficits that actually resulted? If that happened, lawmakers would face big incentives for adopting rosy assumptions when enacting budget legislation.
• Second, what role would the courts play in resolving budgetary disputes? Who would have the legal standing to challenge the failure of the Congress and President to pass a balanced budget? Would the courts' involvement lead to judicial micromanagement of the nation's fiscal affairs?
• Third, what would happen if there were not enough votes to waive the balanced budget amendment during a recession (assuming such a waiver provision existed), or if the President vetoed the waiver legislation that the Congress passed? Tightening fiscal policy during an economic downturn could make a recession worse and disrupt the flow of benefits to our most vulnerable citizens at a time when the economy was the weakest.
• Fourth, would a balanced budget amendment create incentives for policymakers to use dubious accounting and budget gimmicks to overcome the difficulties of meeting the budgetary requirements? If so, how would the use of those gimmicks affect the public's perception of the integrity, transparency and credibility of the federal budget?

A constitutional amendment to require a balanced budget is one approach to controlling America's deficits and debt. It would focus on the "bottom line." However, that bottom line is the product of a set of complex accounting rules designed to capture the end result of a legislative process that involves many points of view about government's role and, within those roles, the nation's priorities. Deficits and debt arise in large part from the failure to achieve consensus about those issues. By itself, the amendment cannot resolve these underlying policy differences.

Although a balanced budget amendment could set a standard that elected officials would not want to miss, there are also legitimate concerns about how it would operate in practice.

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• Budget Plan: Time Management Aspects The application will not be able to diagnose this, but it will be able to warn the patient and recommend possibly going to the doctor.
• Implementing Budget Restrictions in a Police Department The trust between the public and the police is the essential element of the police forces’ success in protecting the citizens and communities.
• The College Dreams Organization’s Budget Plan A budget plan for College Dreams will help in tracking its expenditure during the execution of its activities. Therefore, College Dreams needs a budget plan for financial accountability and the project’s efficiency.
• The Alberta Budget 2022 Objectives Financial budgeting is an essential part of organizational development, and the objective of the Alberta Budget 2022 plan is to support the health-care system of the province.
• Budget Types in Education in New Jersey Budget management is one of the most significant and challenging tasks for school districts since it is crucial to balance the needs of the students and competitive salaries for teachers.
• The Nursing Budget Development Forces Internal elements such as the competence of the human resource, the availability of financial resources, the management component, and the participation of the nursing staff and the healthcare stakeholders are examples of things that can […]
• Minimization of Nurse Burnout: Outcomes, Approach, and Budget The purpose of this paper is to introduce an approach reflected in the organization of yoga classes for health care providers and explain how it will contribute to the minimization of nurse burnout in clinical […]
• Budget Cut Issue: Problem Solution Firstly, the preservation of the previous working atmosphere with a decrease in the volume of work and wages could be a sign of stagnation in the team.
• Arguments Against Budget Cuts in a Community Clinic The strategy should also highlight any areas that current budget fails to cover and emphasize on proper management of the funds at the clinic.
• Fiscal Year 2021 Proposed Budget The pandemic has challenged the physical emotional and general health of all the inhabitants of this mighty state.it has interfered with almost all parts of life including transportation, employment and even deprived us of some […]
• The BBVA Compass Distribution of Marketing Budget The bank has faced the problem of the distribution of its marketing budget because, based on the indicators of the previous years, the organization began to spend less on advertising needs.
• Capital Budget and Advanced Documentation System The easiest and most accessible way to pay for Advanced Document System is from the cash flow, especially if the company has a surplus of profit.
• Aspects of the Creating a Budget The present paper explains the different types of costs, demonstrating how and why a budget is important for the project and nursing in general, in particular, due to the limited nature of accessed resources.
• San Diego Budget Allocation of Public Goods To begin with, one should draw attention to what goals and priorities the local government has regarding the allocation of its goods and services.
• Budget Forecasting Value for a Company Consequently, there is a noble chance that the average will indicate costs and revenues in the budget. The situation in the market is unstable, so it is difficult to evaluate and predict costs and revenues.
• Budget Preparation: Hiring of Patient Navigators The management expects the navigators to reduce the readmission rate from the current rate of 15% to 13% in the first year and to 10% thereafter.
• How a Manager Can Use Hypothetical Budget Figures for Decision Making The actual cost refers to the ‘actual quantity of input applied in the production of output while the standard price and standard cost are the ‘standard’ price and quantity that the manager had anticipated.
• Using One-Twelfth of the Annual Budget: Pros and Cons Contrary, such departments as the Ministry of Agriculture would be harmed from using one-twelfth of the annual budget each month due to seasonality, which means that their costs are distributed unequally throughout the year.
• Goals, Requirements, and Methods of Information Gathering for Sum Budget To create the complete master budget for the upcoming fiscal year, the following information will be gathered and provided, by the responsible persons, to the senior manager.
• Federal vs. Missouri State Budget Analysis in 2021 In the state of Missouri, senators and government officers are mostly chosen to administer the complex finances of the state. The spending scheme is well designed to reduce leakage and waste so that by the […]
• Annual Personal Budget as per the Year 2020 Out-of-home leisure and vocations will cost the worker $500 in the year 2020. The worker has planned well for the children’s education, giving them the best medication, and planned for any eventualities that may come […]
• The Importance of Budget Variance Report Submission Consequently, the primary goal of the paper is to discuss the operating budget, conduct variance analysis of direct materials and labor, explain its findings, and determine the aspects that have to be investigated to understand […]
• The Budget of the York County School Division The analysis of the budget of the York County School Division for the next two years, i.e, FY 2020 and FY 2021 is carried out in this report.
• Capital Budget for River County The purpose of this proposal report is to provide background information on capital budgets and analysis of the capital budget prepared for River County.
• Evaluating Budget Documents The drastic growth of the county population can be attributed to the closeness of the county to downtown Atlanta Georgia. It summarizes the revenues and the expenditure of the Clayton County for the current year […]
• Budget Management Analysis A budget is a tool that helps managers to ensure that the required resources are obtained and used effectively and efficiently as the organization moves towards the achievement of its objectives.
• Strategic Plan in Constructing Operating Budget To become successful, the organization will need to develop a strategic plan. The strategic goals will include the following: To increase the number of clients.
• Low Wages for Healthcare Workers and Budget Cuts They are expressed by the personnel’s desire to eliminate the risks of enhanced responsibility and burden due to the lack of employees’ and patients’ interest in timely and high-quality services.
• The Computer Science Club Project’s Budget Planning The budget for the program is provided in Table 1 below. Budget The narrative for the budget is provided below: The coordinator will spend 100% of his time controlling the quality of the provided services […]
• American Foreign Policy and Budget Allocation This view leads to a call for the complete withdrawal of the U.S.military, and a change in the overall strategy to focus, instead, on the common good.
• Review of Revenue Estimates in Federal, State and Local Budget The main objective of public budgeting is to accomplish the government goals and objectives within a given time frame.
• Budget Manager App’s Market and Persona Overall, the budgeting manager app will help Nick understand his expenses, determine what items he spends the most money on and plan his expenses a month ahead. The use of a budgeting manager app will […]
• Nursing Unit Operating Budget One of the strategies that may motivate managers to adhere to EPB principles is to demonstrate long-term cost-efficiency of the matter.
• Final Project Budget Analysis Submission After the analysis and actual costs, there was the need to examine the variances in the financial performance. The potential reasons for the variance could result from the efforts of the production manager to cut […]
• Budget: An Inconvenience or an Asset? Budgeting can be described as a type of planning that focuses on the financial aspects of a business and is limited to a rather short term.
• War on Terrorism: Budget and Policy Discussion The discussion of the specific Acts and Policies directed at USA security is going to be considered with the purpose to follow the changes which occurred in the USA after 9/11 attacks.
• Competition Bikes Budget Analysis The targeted sales of year 9, it represents the revenue stream of the business and are very critical for the success and profit for the company.
• The Pitfalls of Criminal Justice Budget Cuts: An Administrator’s Perspective Today, in the United States, the diminishing crime rates have created an erroneous perception among state legislatures, key public policy figures, and mainstream commentators that crime and the administration of the criminal justice system are […]
• Baltimore’s Fiscal 2012 Budget Analysis The budget plan has also suggested some of the ways that the government will employ to implement the policies and accomplish the goals and the objectives.
• Evaluating a Company’s Budget Procedures While the financial accountant deals with the reporting of the financial position and performance of the company, the cost accountant’s role is to present, manage and monitor costs through balancing estimated costs with the actual […]
• University of Oregon Budget Analysis 94% of the total income for the university over the same period of time. 55 % of the total income for the university over the same period of time.
• The Master Budget for an Energy Drink Called Blue Camel The master budget or commonly referred to as the financial plan is another common type of budget, which is extremely extensive and wide in coverage.
• Emergency Room Budget The potential members of the team are the nurses, who know about all processes in the Emergency Room, and the financial workers, who know how to find the best financial propositions to the required services […]
• Public Sector Budget Coordination Challenges A comprehensive understanding of the budget coordination is imperative, not just to develop expense projections but to ensure that policymakers get the best advice on the feasibility of a given budget suggestion from outlooks of […]
• Decision Making Using Budget Data The following are some of the ways managers can use budgets to make decisions. The third way through which a budget is used by managers to make decisions is by motivating employees.
• Budget Process and Performance Appraisal at Al Baraha Hospital The processes obligate the managers to formulate sound decisions that influence the productivity of the organization. As indicated, budgeting is a process that tries to foresee the plans of an organization.
• Departmental Budget Preparation for Nursing Home However, while the total population in our area of operation is expected to decrease, the population of people who are above 65 years in the US is projected to rise.
• Budget Modeling of Abidjan Ville Budget modeling is regarded as one of the key aspects of financial government practices, and the actual importance of proper planning is associated with the values of accurate allocation of financial resources of the city […]
• Functional Budget of Stanford University Nonetheless, there is need for the federal government to stick to the balanced budget because of the various shortcomings that the deficit federal budget has.
• Budget Management Analysis and Specific Strategies This requires a budget which is a quantitative expression of a plan of action and an aid to coordination and implementation.
• Impact of Different Factors on the Health Budget All these are initiatives that have been formulated to reduce the strain that health care is having on the pockets of the majority of Americans.
• Nursing Training: Strategic Budget Planning The unit considered in this paper is a respiratory care unit in which medical services are presented to patients that experience respiratory disorders and difficulties due to such diverse reasons as pneumonia, cardiac problems, and/or […]
• Informed Decisions Toolbox Within the Organizational Setting Through wide consultations, there is likely to be less rebellion of criticism on decision that was initially acknowledged by every significant person in the organization.
• Budget Analysis of the Terrels for the Year 2003 The Income and expenditure statement of the Terrels prepared with the forecasted income and expenditure figures shows that the total gross income will be $ 52596 for the year 2003.
• UAV Pro Inc.’s Budget, Costs and Revenues The demand for the product is expected to decrease with time; however, the implementation of an aggressive marketing campaign and rebranding is expected to raise the interest in the UAV Pro.
• Budget Execution by Director of National Intelligence Director of National Intelligence is an official of the executive branch of the US federal government appointed by the President of the United States with the consent of the US Senate According to the Intelligence […]
• Quality Budget Development Process: Strategic Planning and Doctor of Nursing Practice Education There are many important steps in developing a Doctor of Nursing Practice project, and the discussion of its financing and strategic planning is one of them.
• Intelligence Budget Transparency Act It is worth noting that the issue of budget transparency about the Intelligence Community is acute, and it is impossible to unequivocally answer the question of whether it is worth supporting or rejecting the Intelligence […]
• The Approval of the Draft Defense Budget in the US Congress The control figures should be submitted to the agency before the start of the fiscal year as the main guide in the preparation of their budget applications for the planned year.
• The U.S. National Security: Budget Issues Despite the fact that the transfer of funds should remain secret, it is possible to disclose some details of the change in costs and explain them by an increase in costs due to a shift […]
• President Obama’s Budget Proposal for the United States The budget is also expected to have an expansion of the earned income tax credit for the working poor. Contrary to the above, Republicans argue that raising the tax of the wealthy during a downturn […]
• The Healthcare Reform Law by Obama: Budget of the Healthcare Reform The proposed healthcare reform has an estimated budget of $828 billion; half of which is scheduled to be acquired from the expansion of Medicaid with an extra $29 billion stipulated to aid in the funding […]
• Resolute Energy Corporation: Project Budget Development D 350 for meals to the team. The project has presented a budget line of U.S.
• Budget Reduction in Criminal Justice Administrations The mission of the police is to maintain law and order among the citizens. The main positive effect of this training is the ability of some members to provide security to the rest of the […]
• Budget Deficits: Hicks–Hansen (IS-LM) Model Therefore, this model explains the relationship between investments and savings and how this affects the liquidity preference and the availability of money in the economy.
• Opioid Epidemic and Budget Losses in Tax Revenue The authors provide the estimates of the budget losses in tax revenue associated with opioid use disorder. The authors also claim that the investment in the prevention and treatment of substance abuse disorders can mitigate […]
• UK Budget Deficit: Alternative Policies The root causes of the budget deficit problem can to a large extent be attributed to the feeble economy of the time; and the impacts of the increased government channeling of funds into the funding […]
• US Federal Budget and Economic Scarcity Unfortunately, the U.S.federal budget is no exception to this, and the reason for it may be seen, inter alia, in the fact that for years the U.S.government has been driven by a desire to reduce […]
• Marketing Plan-Budget of AT&T Sync Phone Sales projections: Sales have been projected to be 500,000 units in the first month which will increase at a rate of 1850 per month and 6,122,100 units in the first year.
• Capital Budget: Term Definition It is concerned with a process of evaluating and choosing project for long-term which are better consistent with the goal to maximize the wealth of the owner.
• Ways to Save Costs for D.O.C. Budget The gadget operates on the motion of the objects and is able to detect when inmates are moving in and out thus putting on and off the light as necessary.suggested that, the budget on the […]
• Budget in the American Government For the purpose of this paper, we are going to examine the budget cycle and analysis of a public district school. In this step, the budget is made public for the citizen to view and […]
• City of Rome: Budget and Revenue Analysis The analysis of the City of Rome, GA budget showed that the policymakers highlighted the importance of the state budget for public safety and general government.
• Budget Analysis: City of Rome, GA According to Figure 1, the primary income sources of the city during the three years were Ad Valorem Tax and Local Option Sales Tax, which are attributed to more than 50% of the government’s annual […]
• City of Rome Budget Analysis The analysis of the budget of the city of Rome, GA, as well as the review of the press, revealed no privatization efforts and plans.
• Budget Methodology in Alabama The state has a bifurcated budget system, which implies that it is divided into the General Fund and the Education Trust Fund.
• Sacramento County Financing a Capital Budget Even though there seems to be enough money allocated for the project, the developer, the Judicial Branch of California, may want to consider additional funding sources to avoid a money shortage. In short, the Judicial […]
• The Do’s and Don’ts of Exhibiting on a Small Budget In the case study, the event planners underestimated the importance of researching a way of creating a realistic budget for the trade show.
• Health Science Project’s Sustainability and Budget The main sources of funds for the sustainability of the project are donations, grants, and gifts provided by interested organizations and citizens.
• The Intelligence Community’s Budget Issues The National Intelligence Program covers a wide range of activities, projects, and budgets that support the goals and decisions of the Intelligence Community.
• Higher Education: Personnel Management and Budget In this project, the impact of a collective bargaining agreement on performance evaluation will be discussed along with the analysis of the role of a leader in personnel management.
• Production Department: Budget Report The quantification of the cost of the inventory is based on the current consumption, and the trends observed in the business, and the anticipations for the three months.
• Budget Objectives and Strategy in the Marketing Plan In calculating the unit cost of the old and new models we will apply the Conjoint Analysis, which is a marketing research tool that is used to determine attributes of the new product and how […]
• Jonesboro Newspaper’s Budget and Cash Flow A budget enables an individual to forecast the amount of money to be realized upon the execution of a given undertaking. A part of the income from the company will be used to cater for […]
• Former Senator Pushed for Balancing the Budget Although both Democrats and Republicans want to avert the fiscal cliff because of the expected consequences, an agreement is yet to be achieved. The economic growth rate lacks the capacity to reduce the rate of […]
• Dalles City’s Budget Issues and Priorities This budget can be used to evaluate performance when the budgeted level of activity is the same as the actual results Budgeting is a process of planning and controlling the use of assets in running […]
• Managing a Hospital Budget Understanding the costs associated with the expenses of running a hospital is vital since it is from the costs that we are able to determine the amount of profit the hospital can make in relation […]
• California Budget Crisis in 2010-2011 According to the Legislative Analysts Office, the shortfall in the 2010/2011 budget was $18. The residents of California had to bear the brunt of the shortfall in their budget.
• Lawsona City’s Budget Balancing Challenges The rate should be based on the condition of the city budget and possible contingencies in the economy. A carefully planned and socially competent approach to implementing a sales tax will help the city of […]
• Oakland Family Wellness Center’s Budget Allocation Salaries and benefits for the staff represent the largest portion of the planned budget. The budget for childcare services is planned to include food and clothing.
• Houston ISD and Galena Park Texas Budget There is no actual financial data from the years 2015-2016 for Galena Park ISD, so budgeted financial data will be used.
• The Necessity of a Budget Narrative To give the funder an opportunity to evaluate the project’s financial costs and understand whether the implementation of the project is real, the budget narrative is necessary.
• Budget Deficit and Surplus in US Fiscal Policy One of the major initiatives the government is likely to undertake in case of a budget deficit is to reduce national spending.
• The US Budget Making Process After creating the budget, the Congress must then pass a law that is signed by the president authorizing the government to spend the money through the authorization bill. The presence of long-term and short-term deficits […]
• Budget Planning and Strategic Planning Phases A budget is an official document containing the company’s perspectives and expectations regarding the achievements of financial character within a set period of time. The purposes of budget planning may vary, and they are contingent […]
• Unethical Budget Cuts and Sustainable Alternatives It is unethical for a CEO to enforce such budget cuts due to the possibility of consequences for the safety and lives of employees and clients.
• US Government Excessive Spending and Budget Cuts The spending does not negate the need for secrecy, especially when it comes to the security of the President of the US.
• Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises’ Budget Planning While the specified precaution measures might seem redundant for an organization of a comparatively small size, where bureaucracy is unlikely to be a problem, a quarterly account of the financial moves made is essential for […]
• Dubai Cap Sports Shop’s Master Budget The main purpose of a master budget is to make estimations of costs and expenses that are likely to incur in the future.
• New York State Budget for Educational Policies Most of the issues that have been persistent in the education department of the New York State have revolved around budget allocation, the assessment of the performance of the teachers, the agendas proposed by the […]
• Orchid Ltd.’s Actual and Flexed Budget Variance The management feels that if the company does not control the rising cost of manufacturing, the company’s profit may decline in the future.
• Congressional Budget Office’s Policy and Forecasting At the same time, one of the objectives of this paper is the estimation of critiques of the CBO work regarding budgetary forecasting issued by both outside analysts and the Congressional Budget Office’s officials.
• Technology and Budget Management Issues in Nursing Overall, there is a need for nurse managers to use their budgetary insights to prioritize the adoption of emerging technology solutions that promise to improve patient care outcomes.
• Oklahoma City’s Capital Budget and Expenditure This paper will analyze the payroll of the Oklahoma City public workers, analyze the trend of expenditure, forecast the future of the expenditures, and give a brief overview of capital budgeting.
• Oklahoma City’s Operating Budget and Challenges The goals and objectives of Oklahoma City are also determined by the goals of the various agencies that form part of the city’s budget.
• Theatre Budget: Proposals and Perspectives The main source of clash is the difference in views of the team of accountants and the team of artists who generally have opposite perspectives on the purposes of the theatre budget.
• School District Budget Development Thus, it alerts the owner of the organization about what is going on with the money and helps organize spending and savings, makes the leader decide in advance how the financing strategy will work within […]
• Budget Sequestration in the US In the US for example, people agreed that the sequester was bad for a long period of time since they were in fear of the country hitting another recession due to all the major cut-backs […]
• Volkswagen of America: IT Projects and Budget The PMO occupies the position of the budget controller. It is the process of relating projects to organizational strategy and ability to execute the strategy.
• Budget Management Strategies for Higher Education: Overcoming Funding Constraints A reduction in the number of students means that teachers are likely to be required to renegotiate their terms of services.
• Balancing the Budget: Planning and Prioritization A balanced budget is the one that addresses all the crucial issues especially the ones concerning the public. Again, national defense funds have to be provided to enhance the country’s security, which is a mandatory […]
• The Federal Budget: the Financial Year 2008 This paper provides and analysis of the operation and maintenance section of the 2008 financial year of the department of defense.
• Federal Budget Deficits: Cost and Benefits Huntley notes that the most important consideration when discussing the benefits accrued from this type of deficits is that the economy is not slowed down by any margin contrary to the perception of some economic […]
• 10 Ways to Stretch Your Marketing Budget It is possible to note that the major idea of the article is to make entrepreneurs understand that they should use appropriate marketing strategies instead of trying to adopt other businesses’ approaches and methods.
• Balancing the Budget for US There are a number of measures that the federal government can put in place in order to lower the deficit. One of the key areas of the federal government expenditure is social security.
• Federal Budget Making Options The CBO gives advice on array of the policy options in the annual budget is to provide solutions on how to save through thrift use of resources.
• How to Manage Budget Hotels – Cases in London The quality of service offered and the satisfaction of the customer are factors that have been considered to be leading to the retaining of customers and the general success of the hotel industry.
• Analysis of Hamden Fire Department’s Budget According to the two authors, the budgetary process is the mandate of the office of the leader of a local authority.
• Alpine Wear’s Cash Budget When the volume of sales declines, it is important to add the variable target balance to the cash flow in the budget.
• Local Government Budget Reduction Processes Notably, budget reduction varies from local government to the other, from an institution to the other, and from a state to the other.
• Budget for Chronic Kidney Disease With the increase in the prevalence rate of CKD the cost of administering the treatment of the diseases is also expected to increase.
• Budgets Management Reference to the Budget of Aardvark Company Budgeting is worth evaluating in the concept of a changing environment and forms the core part of the organization driving performance and controlling of resources through strategies and the setting of targets.
• Budget Planning and Control: Tootsie Roll Industries A review of the trend of the performance of the company over the years shows that the performance of the company has improved.
• Project Schedule and Budget It is also important to note that this can help project managers to focus on more important projects. In fact, when tackling voluminous projects, it can be effective to combine the two types of project […]
• Budget Forecasting and Its Importance in Planning Sales = Variable Expenses + Fixed Costs Management team costs = $5,000,000 Interest expense = 3,000,000 Amortization Costs = $200,000,000/10yrs = $20,000,000 Total fixed costs per year = $28,000,000 Variable Costs per Unit Direct material […]
• Public Budgeting Issue in a Hospital In realization of its objectives and goals, the hospital has adequately embraced the concept of budgeting. In case of the King Faisal specialist hospital, site-based budgeting has been adopted.
• Budget Comparison Analysis
• Library Budget Ethical Concerns
• Project Time Horizon and Budget
• Budget Deficit: Our Nations Budget Deficit and How It Relates to Economic Theory and Crisis
• The Idea of Cutting the Budget in US
• Local Government Agencies Budget in the United States
• The Public Budget Cycle
• Federal Government Budget
• The Budget Tyre Market
• State Management of Taxes and Policies
• Material Supply Budgeting
• National Debt and Budget Deficit
• Kansas Sales Budget Memo
• Budget For Server Desktop Upgrade
• College’s Response to Budget Issues Will Effect Students
• Volkswagen Group of America: IT Budgeting
• Manage Your College Budget Efficiently With These Tools and Tips
• The Costs and Benefits of Incurring an Annual Federal Budget Deficit
• How Defense Budget Cuts Are Affecting National Security
• Federal Budget Simulation
• Relationship Between Budget Deficits and Tax Cutting
• The California’s Budget Process
• Budget Deficits and the Economy
• Concept of the Budget Management
• Concepts of Budget and Cash Flow Analysis
• Has Sweden’s Government Budget Policy Been Too Discretionary?
• Does Capital Account Liberalization Discipline Budget Deficit?
• Are Audit Committee Characteristics Important to the Internal Audit Budget in Malaysian Firms?
• Does Capitated Managed Care Affect Budget Predictability?
• Is There a Link Between Budget Deficit and Interest Rates?
• Does Fiscal Illusion Impact Budget Policy?
• Can Budget Institutions Counteract Political Indiscipline?
• Does Government Ideology Influence Budget Composition?
• Are Biopharmaceutical Budget Caps Good Public Policy?
• Does Local Governments’ Budget Deficit Push up Housing Prices in China?
• Can Expenditure Cuts Eliminate a Budget Deficit?
• Does Tax Competition Soften Regional Budget Constraint?
• Are Budget Deficits Inflationary?
• Does the Structural Budget Balance Guide Fiscal Policy Pro-cyclically?
• Can Fiscal Budget-Neutral Reforms Stimulate Growth?
• Does the Wage Tax System Cause Budget Deficits?
• Are Budget Deficits Too Large?
• Can Governments Mandate Hard Budget Constraints?
• Have Large Budget Deficits Caused Increasing Trade Deficits?
• Are Budget Deficits Used Strategically?
• Has Federal Budget Deficit Policy Changed in Recent Years?
• Can Increasing Taxes Reduce the Budget Deficit?
• Are Hard Budget Constraints for Sub-National Governments Always Efficient?
• Can Tax Revenue Rise and the Budget Deficit Decline?
• Are School Budget Cuts Affecting Student’s Chances?
• Can the Intertemporal Budget Constraint Explain the Feldstein-Horioka Puzzle?
• Are the Poor Protected From Budget Cuts?
• Can the Stability and Growth Pact in EMU Cause Budget Deficit Cycles?
• Does Better Governance and Commitment to Development Attract General Budget Support?
• Has the Annual Budget Outlived Its Usefulness?
• Cash Flow Paper Topics
• Economic Topics
• Managerial Accounting Research Ideas
• National Debt Research Topics
• Risk Assessment Questions
• Forecasting Questions
• Government Regulation Titles
• Wall Street Questions
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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• Promoting the principles of sustainable economic development.
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I find that the Budget Speech Competition has great value for aspiring economic students. Not only are the topics economically relevant, but the Budget Speech Competition events in Cape Town gave students an opportunity to meet and talk to some of the most influential policy makers in South Africa.

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National budget for 2024: A Budget Badly Made

August 25, 2023

by Sonny Africa

(First of three parts )

Finance Sec. Benjamin Diokno made an incredible claim at the opening of the Senate budget hearings: “If you look at the composition of the budget it’s talagang pro-poor .” But the budget’s numbers tell a much different story about the administration’s priorities.

The de facto head of the administration economic team said that the poor don’t really pay much taxes but in return “get a lot of benefits [like] free education, free health care, social protection measures”. He told the Senate to understand the budget as what you pay in taxes and how much you get in return for them to see how much Filipinos benefit from it.

But the biggest beneficiaries of the government budget aren’t the poor. If they were, the country wouldn’t be seeing such worsening inequality and the majority being left further behind. Which is why the economic team’s argument is insensitive, patronizing and deeply wrong all at the same time.

Anti-poor, pro-rich

A broad-based fiscal stimulus is needed. This means not just spending more but spending on the right things. However, the proposed 2024 budget doesn’t give the people the urgent relief they need amid rising prices and joblessness. Nor does it go anywhere to fixing the backwardness of agriculture and Filipino industry which are at the root of these rising prices and joblessness. This backwardness will only be felt more keenly as the global economy trips and stumbles next year.

On the other hand, the proposed budget does take pains to keep delivering infrastructure projects to support corporate profits and grease trapo pork barrels. It also takes pains to keep repaying debt which, ungratefully, keeps growing relentlessly. The budget even gives unprecedented room for opaque slush funds justified as confidential and intelligence expenses. This is spending more but spending on the wrong things.

Worse, the administration is making the poor and middle class bear those pains. They don’t get the social services or social protection they need. They’re also made to pay more and more taxes on the few goods and services they can afford from their failing family incomes – even as rich families and large corporations pay less and less taxes on their income. Bloating billionaire wealth, meanwhile, remains untouched.

The quantities of the budget’s thousands of pages reveal a lot about the administration’s real priorities. Why isn’t it a pro-poor budget?

Welfare unfriendly

To begin with, it isn’t responsive to how the number of poor and vulnerable Filipinos has grown since the start of the Marcos Jr administration to some 19-22 million families already. Poverty is increasing because prices still keep rising even if inflation seems to be moderating. Job creation is also increasingly hollow with mostly self-employment and informal work in the economy’s lowest-paying and most irregular sectors.

The budget is a vital tool to give distressed families immediate relief. No other policy measure works as fast for so many. Public spending on social protection and social services should increase in times of crises when low-income Filipinos need these the most. The proposed budget, however, gives very low priority to millions of distressed Filipino households.

The budgets of major social assistance programs for poor and vulnerable families in the social welfare, labor, health and education departments will be drastically cut in 2024.

The government has emergency assistance programs in the DSWD, DOLE, and OWWA aside from quick response funds in DepED, DOH, DA and other agencies. [1] The Marcos Jr administration already cut the funding for these programs this year by Php7 billion and their combined budget fell to Php90.5 billion in the 2023 General Appropriations Act (GAA).

But there’s an even bigger cut coming up. The budgets for emergency assistance programs are reduced by a huge 31% with a Php27.7 billion cut to just Php63.3 billion in 2024. This includes cuts in the budgets for:

• DSWD’s Protective Services for Individuals and Families in Difficult Circumstances (46% or Php16.8 billion cut to Php20 billion), Residential/Non-residential Care (36% or Php1.2 billion cut to Php2.1 billion), Supplementary Feeding (22% or Php1.1 billion cut to Php4.1 billion), Disaster Response and Management (23% or Php948 million cut to Php3.2 billion), Sustainable Livelihood (13% or Php837 million cut to Php5.6 billion), Quick Response Fund (29% or Php500 million cut to Php1.3 billion), and Social Welfare for Distressed Overseas Filipinos and Trafficked Persons (7.4% or Php6 million cut to Php75 million) programs; and
• DOLE’s TUPAD program for informal workers (32% or Php6.4 billion cut to Php13.7 billion).

These budget cuts overshadow the negligible 1.1% or Php118 million increase in OWWA’s social protection and welfare program to Php10.8 billion.

There are a few other social assistance programs in the DSWD, DepED, CHED, DOH and other agencies. Major programs see large cuts in 2024 including in the:

• DOH’s Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially-Incapacitated Patients Program which is reduced by 32% or Php10.4 billion, falling to Php22.3 billion in 2024; and
• DepED’s Senior High School (SHS) Voucher Program which falls by 36% or Php14 billion, dropping to Php25.3 billion in 2024. There is only a miniscule 0.3% or Php39.3 million increase in the Educational Service Contracting (ESC) Program to Php12.5 billion.

The DSWD’s flagship Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) increases by 10% or Php10.2 billion to Php112.8 billion in 2024. This is after a Php5.1 billion cut in 2023 though so the net effect is that the 4Ps budget in 2024 doesn’t even keep up with inflation and is still worth less in real terms than in 2022.

Less social services

The total budget for social services is reported to grow mainly because of a few increases that the stingy economic team is legally obliged to give and thus compelled to provide. The Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens doubles (97% increase) to Php49.8 billion because of the amendatory law last year doubling the monthly pension to Php1,000. Similarly, the Pension and Gratuity Fund increases 43% or by a huge Php76.5 billion to Php253.2 billion especially because of the mandated automatic indexation of pensions of military and uniformed personnel. [2]

On the other hand, there are some notable cuts in important social service budget items. Despite the pandemic exposing the weaknesses of the public health system, the health budget under social services is perplexingly cut by Php1.8 billion and falls to Php325.4 billion. The DOH budget also clearly shows that the number of public health workers isn’t being increased, and that capital outlays for public health facilities are being cut by 28% to Php24.6 billion.

The education budget is always hyped as accounting for the largest share of the national government budget. Yet despite the learning crisis made even worse by the pandemic, there is no increase in DepED’s permanent staffing which presumably includes teachers; this remains at 1.02 million in 2024. Meanwhile, the budget for overstretched state universities and colleges (SUCs) is actually even cut by Php5.9 billion and falls to Php105.6 billion in 2024.

The Marcos Jr administration hypes fragments of social assistance to feign action and concern for the poor – the “free education, free health care, social protection measures” that Sec. Diokno spoke about. But they aren’t just small compared to the magnitude of the problems at hand. They’re also just chronic band-aid solutions in the absence of real efforts to reverse the decades-long globalization-driven decline in the country’s economic base. Agriculture and manufacturing need to be developed as sources of jobs, decent incomes and government revenues for the nation.

(Second part here )

(Final part here )

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[1] Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Department of Education (DepED), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Agriculture (DA)

[2] The pension for retired military and uniformed personnel is automatically indexed to the pay of those still in active service. This means that salary adjustments of active personnel also result in pension adjustments for retirees.