The U.S. government needs a budget

Perceptions here are important. Many Democrats do not want to vote on a budget resolution that is seen as representing their full fiscal plan because it might meet with disapproval among voters. In a complete and transparent budget, the administration’s push for several trillion dollars in tax and spending increases, along with historic levels of government borrowing, would be scrutinized. Many House and Senate Democrats would prefer to avoid that debate. That is understandable politically, but it comes with a real cost because approving a budget is a useful discipline, even when only one party is working on it. When a full budget must be presented for consideration, the focus is not just on new programs and new spending, but also on the existing and substantial base of pre-existing activity. It is the government’s responsibility to show the fiscal implications of adding new initiatives to old commitments, in terms of the totals for taxes, spending, deficits, and debt. Facing this prospect is often enough to screen out costly ideas with less merit. The current federal budget process is far from ideal. The executive and legislative branches operate under different rules, which means there is no guarantee they will agree on a fiscal plan. Over the past half-century, Congress has almost never met the deadline of October 1 for approving appropriations to keep the government operating.