After reviewing my Arithmetic of Budgeting slides, reading the text material in Chapters 7 & 8 and after reviewing my outline slides for those chapters available in this week's module, in the discussion board for Week 4, respond to and discuss the following questions/issues: 

Arithmetic of Budgeting:

1.  What do I mean by "the key to understanding budgeting is to understand the numbers?"

2.  What is the relationship between the OMB and the CBO and what are their roles?

3.  Governmental budgets use funds. What do we mean by that term in budgets, and what do we mean by on-budget and off-budget numbers in the federal budget?  Why do we need to use the on and off budget concepts?

4.  What federal agency is responsible for the preparation of the Presidential Budget, what are the steps in that preparation, and what kind of information is needed for that preparation?

5.  In my slides I identify three budget formats and four budget approaches.  Consider and discuss the meaning and value of each.  Often at the local level we see hybrid approaches–why do think that is the case?

6.  Federal budgets focus primarily on a single year, while programs are obviously often multi-year.  Consider the pros and cons of single year or multi year budgets.

7.  At the state on local level there is often an attempt at a focus on productivity measures.  What are the problems associated with such measures in governmental operations?

8. What are the responsibilities of the executive in the budget process? 

9. There is much talk about a need to balance budgets, and such budgets are generally required at state and local level.  Considering the huge federal deficit and the national debt discuss the importance of balancing budgets and why this is not done at the federal level–in your discussion explain the difference between deficits and the debt.  Do you think local budgets are really balanced?  Why or why not.

10.  There has been much discussion of cutback management. The Bush Administration argued for reigned in spending despite the fact that the federal budget expanded dramatically during the Bush years. While President Obama promised to carefully review every line of the budget and end earmarks, the reality of politics and the economic situation pushed him into backing off many of those promises, and the new administration is again promising cutbacks, especially in the size of government. While Republican focus has often been to reduce spending and cut taxes, the Trump administration increased spending dramatically but did cut taxes. The current administration is pushing for increased taxes, claiming to only focus on the wealthy despite the fact that increased taxes on the wealthy would not be sufficient to deal with the current push for dramatic spending increased for social programs and infrastructure. On the other hand, states and local communities which are locked into balanced budget requirements (we will discuss this further, because it is not totally accurate) have often been forced into major cuts in services and even employment.  As a result, it is important to discuss that when cutting budgets, what do we need to consider in contemplating what to cut (you will be looking at this in your budget project)?