Government Budgeting & Financial Management Questions
Explain the various perspectives one can have on public budgeting and how each perspective can affect the definition of public budgeting. What should this mean to you as a person putting together a government budget? A yearly monetary statement that indicates the evaluation of predictable revenue and expected expenditure in a fiscal year is known as the public budget. Some of the perspectives that one can have on the public budget areas discussed. The first one is a political perspective where the politicians view the budget procedure as an administrative occasion done in a civic ground for political benefit. The budget results portray the power and skills used by major political parties,
groups and citizens in making their needs known and identifying them. The second one is the economic perspective.
Here the economist analyses budgeting as a subject of assigning possession in terms of opportunity cost where assigning of resources from a single customer
takes away properties from another
and function to offer decision-makers with information. Then the third one is the accountant perspective. This perspective focuses on the accountability value in budgeting that analyzes the amount budgeted to actual expenditures. As an individual involved in the government budget, the different perspectives on public budgeting will help me in understanding how federal programs affect the economy and invest in sectors that promote shared prosperity
Q2. Assuming someone defines policy as “a guide to action,” explain how budgeting a statement of government policy is really. In what way is this understandably significant to policymakers, public managers, and clientele groups of public agencies?
The budget gives a full and clear representation of how much the public sector is affecting the economy. The rules are formulated making
their compliance and noncompliance easily visible and often
sanctioned by financial markets.
Budgetary management has led to a sharpening of entities by requiring approvals and enforcing business plans, tightening controls over-borrowing and even letting the market take control of commercial activities leading to global budgetary control in most government intakes.
The budget offices have played a role as major promoters of incorporating business management styles and practices into the public sector, therefore, maximizing productivity and minimizing cost in delivering existing policies.
The budget offers a key instrument of
transparency on government action and accountability. They provide a description of each program objective and target population and nature of activities involved as well as quantified information on their evolution over the presiding years.
Budgets have become better instruments in serving policy needs and decision streams have improved their capability to handle the resource use aspect of policymaking.
- Given the fact stated in question #2, what should each group (policymakers, public managers, and clientele groups) do to affect the budget process? What are the implications in terms of achieving policy for the whole nation?
The policymaking process should involve a large array of groups like the policymakers, public managers and the cliental groups which involve different public sectors. Each group should provide a stakeholder who will take part in the budgetary policy amendments and formulation of different bills concerning budget allocation for smooth propagation of the different sectors’
economy. This can be done through proper scrutiny and effective discussions concerning the expenditures of the different clients. This enables substantial resources to be employed in modifying the existing policies through Fundamental Expenditure Review s which mirror concerns expressed over automatic rollovers of appropriations .secondly the policymakers
ensure quality control and
credible reports. Also, policymakers should undergo training to make substantial reports to ensure not only employees are up to date in the field of expertise.
The implications of the different roles of the
groups are quality budgets that equalize the appropriation of funds to the different sectors, it ensures good reports that will lead to the contentment of the different sectors without biasness or having misappropriation of funds, Integrity will be a key consideration when forming policies concerning the budget hence no corruption.
- What is the budget cycle? In what way is this important to someone who wishes to influence public policy? What implications does the cycle have to the use of analysis?
A budget cycle is the steps such as preparation and submission, approval, execution and audit, and evaluation undergone by the budget. A budget cycle is important to anyone who wishes to implement public policy in that one must follow and clearly understand the different steps in the process and involve the relevant authorities where necessary to avoid secluding various sectors or misappropriation of funds.
The resource implications on policies will be taken clearly and identified before a policy on the budget cycle is taken.
A decision about how resource implications should be handled is to be taken at the same time as and part of the decision making during the evaluation process.
The treasury and any other departments affected by the budget bill are fully consulted in good time before any other step is made.
- How does the local budget cycle differ from the federal one? Again, how is this important to someone who wishes to shape public policy?
The major difference between the federal budget process and the local counterparts is the issue of fiscal deficit in which the estimated revenue is less than the budgeted expenditures. The federal budget involves the whole country as it acquires the money it spends majorly from taxation. Roughly 80 % of the revenue is from individual income tax and payroll and payroll taxes while 9% is from the corporate income tax and the rest from different sources. The federal government is also permitted to borrow money to meet its task while the local budget cycle involves a specific district, county and cities. For the local budget cycle, the property taxes make up the highest revenue of 35%. Sales and gross receipts are the second at 34%. Cooperate income tax is the smallest at3% of the money.
This is important to anyone wishing to shape the public policy by understanding the mismatches in the revenue budget and hence make policies that tend to lead to a creation of a balance between the federal
budget and the local budget
- Technologies shape society. In what ways can we see this in terms of public budgeting?
Technology elevates society. Today numerous businesses and ventures use technology by maximizing its advantages. Automation of the accounting system is one of them. Technology can build in systems that automatically rhyme with the general ledger. It helps keep data accurately hence reducing potential errors. Cultural ideology influences macro budget issues such as the size and scope of government, the incidence of taxation in terms of who pays and the burden of taxation which gauges the extent in terms of how high h or low are priorities the budget. The size of deficits and the rate of monetary growth is also explored through various hypothesis dealing with spending levels of taxation, spending priorities strategies of taxation and financial health jurisdictions are tested.
- How do the American ideologies significantly shape the public budgeting process?
The American ideologies shape the public budgeting process through the cognitive event in America if not viewed as monolithic despite the presence of national media and other unifying influences. The American cognitive event is viewed as consisting of competing elements that are dominant or submissive depending on the time or place. Within the context of a broad Lockean or Madisonian structure that emphasizes distrust if large institutional entities, various cultural and ideological predispositions are evident within the nation.
- Explain the federal context of American budgeting and the significance of that context on managing public programs.
The Federal contentment of American budgeting is significant in that it is allowed to run a deficit and borrow money to meet its obligations. This implies that the government can spend more than its revenue.
Congress has made efforts to pass a balanced budget amendment to the American constitution without success. The US federal budget deficit for fiscal years has occurred because the government currently spends more than it earns According to AP news, the FY 2019 budget created. this has resulted in three
factors which are war on terror following various events, tax cuts are another cause of the burgeoning
deficit and doubling of the
military spending.
- Discuss the general relations between the various branches of government in the budgeting process.
The judiciary, executive and legislature are different branches of the government. The legislature’s function of shaping the yearly budget also plays a major role in providing budgetary oversight. When fiscal policies and medium-term budgetary aims are debated in parliament and annual budget laws are adopted by the legislature budget strategies. Polices are owned by the elected representatives, in case the legislature is inactive in budget decision making fiscal policies are decided by government politicians on the advice of elected officials. In case there are no strong accountability arrangements on the government, there is a risk that budgetary policies reflect the wishes of unelected elites. The
Executive arm is headed by the president
who submits a budget request to the congress then the house and senate pass budget resolutions. The house and senate appropriation subcommittees make up appropriation bills and they vote on bills and reconcile the differences. This effect changes in the budget through amendment powers. Time allocated for the parliamentary debate and consideration hence the longer the time the more detailed analysis is done to identify support suggested changes. The ability of parliament to change the budget is dependent on the relation of the business committee. Judiciary through the court’s decision affects the budget formulation, appropriation, budget implementation.
- Discuss how the general characteristics of the legislatures and factors affecting the legislative decision-making process place constraints on the legislature.
The function of the legislature is to shape the yearly budget and offer oversights when fiscal policies and medium-term budgetary purposes are discussed in parliament and the legislature adopts yearly budget laws. The legislative committee sets a bill that is to be supported by the president and the majority of the house congress. The legislative process of a budget process is described in 3 main phases, these are budget implementation and control perfomance by the congress, modification, consideration and formulation by the executive.
Factors affecting the legislative process include; the number of funds available, the revenue streams and budget goals kept by the legislatures, legislative agendas, social-economic background and personal views and values. These factors place constraints on the legislature in that there is slow decision making due to the numerous steps and views of other members of the committee