The Sequester: When and Why In March of 2013 action was taken in order to pressure policymakers in to a budget compromise and reduce spending deficits in the United States. Across the board spending cuts, known as sequestration, is meant only to catalyze compromise and not to act as a solution itself. The sequester is set to stay enacted until budget goals have been met, continuously cutting funding to federal agencies with each passing fiscal year. Federal Budget Deficits: the Role of Mandatory and Discretionary Spending It is known that over the last decade Federal budget deficits have been increasing. There are two parts of the Federal budget that need to be considered when assessing deficits and “solutions” that congress as implemented. The two parts of the budget are related to mandatory spending, seventy percent of the budget, and discretionary spending, thirty percent of the budget. Discretionary spending is noted to not require amending any major laws in order to cut the budget. Examples of discretionary spending areas vary between Head Start programs for youth education, and foreign aid to other countries during times of disaster or political unrest. Major Problems of Debate: Mandatory and Discretionary Spending It appears that one of the most striking problems resonating throughout Congress regarding their indecision is the lack of meaningful communication between parties. It has been illustrated through debates that relevant information is not presented, and active listening between different points for consideration is also not happening. Mandatory spending plays host to heated debate. Mandatory spending programs include Social Security, farm subsidies, and food stamps or SNAP. These programs a... ... middle of paper ... ...nd the aforementioned SNAP benefits and crop insurances is that Social Security and Medicare are already paid for by the applicants, and those who receive benefits are “entitled” because they have paid for the benefits through previous payroll taxes. As sequestration continues, the national debt looms over Congress, and job security teeters on the edge, Americans wait for the promised budget compromise. There is a bright side to the continuous sequestration: reduced spending may become a new norm. Yet, that is not a satisfying solution if asking the participants in the budget debate. Only time will determine if this course of action proves successful towards reducing national deficits in Federal spending. References Clemmitt, M. (2013, Jul 12). Government spending: will steep cuts hurt the economy? CQ Researcher, 23(25), 597 620. Word count: 1115
McClatchy-Tribune News Service. "Editorials on the federal budget". McClatchy - Tribune News Service. 03 Feb 2010 eLibrary. Web. 18 Feb 2010.
In the terms of the amount of money spent by the national government, the growth of social welfare activities was the most significant policy change in the role of government takes money from taxpayers or borrows it and disburses cash or in-kind benefits, such as food stamps, to millions of people who qualify because of old age, disability, unemployment, or poverty. (Turner et al. 469)
Sheffield, Rachel, and T. Elliot Gaiser. "Food Stamps Don't Stimulate Economic Growth." The Foundry Conservative Policy News from the Heritage Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
Federal spending is necessary for the economy and is essential to the accomplishment of national goals and advancement. This is why a budget is needed, however, there is no actual process mentioned in the Constitution that explains how Congress should do this. The Constitution states:
When states try to find ways to restrain from non-essential areas, unfunded federal mandates are at the top of the list. These mandates often force state and local governments to spend much more than necessary on everything from medical care to welfare to road building. A complex web of federal programs bind together the tree treasuries of the local, state, and federal government. As much as 25 percent of state budgets now comes from the federal government, and up to 60 percent of some state budgets is spent on joint federal-state programs.
From her point of view and research she found only 7% of the public approves of Congress. Contrary to the public, legislative scholars do not believe this and would argue that Congress is strong and not dysfunctional. Whether legislative scholars have this opinion because they are more educated on the subject of Congress and the lawmaking process or not, this may cause their belief in a strong Congress (Binder 85-86). Throughout her essay she assesses Congress’ recent legislative performance, which the public believes is not its best effort. In the abstract of her essay she states, “I argue that even when Congress and the president have reached agreement on the big issues of the day, Congress's problem-solving capacity appears to have fallen to new lows in recent years,” (Binder). Binder’s stance on Congress seems to align with the public’s majority view of a dysfunctional
Identify a government program to analyze—one where the government makes direct payments to citizens. Examples include economic stimulus checks, small business grants, farm subsidies, disaster relief, renewable
...security. If the government primarily allocated spend to these areas or primarily on the people, then our economy would suffer. In other words, if the U.S. government ignored its debt and only concentrated on its people, the debt would continue to rise and would take longer to pay off. The government needs to start allocating more money to debt and get it paid off so that officials could then make its main focus the citizens. There are clearly many areas the government needs to balance spending on but more emphasis needs to be made on lowering the trillions of dollars of debt. If focus isn’t made on reducing this debt, it’s believed we will end up in a recession. This would not only cause continued debt and very little spend on the needs of the people but could very well cause a negative impact on trade relations with foreign countries on much needed trade items.
The U.S budget deficit over the years has been a problem but lately the deficit has shrunk. However, what made the U.S budget deficit get to where it is today and what will it be like in the years to come. Throughout the past the U.S has operated under a deficit. This means that the U.S Spent more money than it was taking in. The cause of the excess in spending was different depending on which year. Some of the causes were war, increase in spending , and economic downturns. There were different acts passed to try and control the deficit problem. The deficit at the present time is declining. This decline is due to the improving economy, sequester, and a tax increase on high-income households. The big factor that went into the decline in the deficit for 2013 was the payment that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac made. The deficit decline in the present time may make some think the U.S could get out of debt but it has been projected that the U.S deficit will start to increase once again.
Lindsey, Lawrence B. “Did the Stimulus Stimulate?” The Weekly Standard. The Weekly Standard LLC. 16 Aug. 2010. Web. 25 April 2011
Since the 1970s, Democrats have become more liberal as Republicans have become more conservative (Smith 139), leaving little potential for compromise when both parties are separated by a rift in ideology. The president himself is blocked in Congress, and actions that may benefit the nation with perhaps no relation to party politics are downvoted by “legislative leaders acting as though they were. . .his sworn enemies” (Edwards “How”). Little is able to get by the gridlock supplied by partisanship: midway through its term, “the 112th Congress has approved just 106 bills, versus 906 in the actual ‘Do Nothing Congress’ of 1947-48” (Grant). A bill advanced by the Republicans is opposed by the Democrats, and a bill advanced by the Democrats is opposed by Republicans, for perhaps no other reason than the opposing party supports it. In a nation held together by compromise and cooperation in trying times, “activist control of party primaries and a commitment by party leaders to wage a perpetual struggle for political advantage have created an environment in which intransigence is rewarded and cooperation is punished, making the bipartisan compromises of the past almost impossible” (Edwards “Unraveling”). Negative campaigning against colleagues adds
“The Budget and Economic Outlook : Fiscal Years 2010 to 2020.” Congress of the United States
During welfare policy reform a noted decrease in participation rate is depicted, whereas the factor of both recessions shows an increase. Another study completed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participation and Costs,” shows similar trends in relation to timelines. This study depicts the costs and enrollment growth between 2001 and 2013. In 2008, both the participation and the cost of the SNAP program mirrors that of the US Census Bureau study, showing a correlation in the Farm Bill Act legislation. This USDA study states, “SNAP will remain one of the most expensive social welfare programs throughout the rest of the decade and beyond. Indeed, in 2023, SNAP will still cost taxpayers at least $73.2 billion, more than double the total cost in 2007 and more than four times the cost of the program in 2000.”
NERSISYAN, Yeva and L. Randall Wray (2010). Deficit Hysteria Redux? Why We Should Stop Worrying About U.S. Government Deficits. Nova York: The Levy Economics Institute, Public Policy Brief, Nº. 111. http://www.levyinstitute.org/pubs/ppb_111.pdf.
Fiscal Affairs Department of IMF in 2009 declared that a statement of the main central government tax expenditures should be required as part of the budget or related fiscal documentation, indicating the public policy purpose of each provision, its duration, and the intended beneficiaries. In addition, there is an area of the budget that routinely escapes rigorous inspection. This is the large allocation of state resources through the use of tax expenditures which reduce the taxes that might otherwise be collected. The tax expenditure report supplements the annual or biennial budget document (Benker, 1986).