Public Budgeting at the National Government Level

The goal of this activity is to give you some background on public budgeting at the national government level, and give you some more familiarity with some of the terminology used in public budgeting. Step 1: Read through the Tax Policy Center's report, “The Numbers,” which can be found at http://www(dot)taxpolicycenter(dot)org/briefing-book/background/numbers/revenue.cfm. There are four pages to read through – use the arrow just above the title to advance to the other pages. Step 2: Read through the Tax Policy Center's report, “Taxes and the Budget,” which can be found at http://www(dot)taxpolicycenter(dot)org/briefing-book/background/taxes-budget/short-term.cfm. There are eight pages to read through – use the arrow just above the title to advance to the other pages. Step 3: Submit answers to the following questions [the first five questions are drawn from “The Numbers” report, and the other five questions are drawn from the “ Taxes and the Budget” report; ]; you do not need to write a ‘formal' paper – you can merely list the questions and provide the answers, BUT your paper should not merely cut-and-paste from the website, nor should it merely copy direct quotes from the website. Write the report in your own words (although you can use quotes in support of, but not in place of, your writing): 1) Since 1950, what has been the largest single source of federal revenue? 2) Based on the report and our readings, but in your own words, how can mandatory expenditures best be defined, and how can discretionary expenditures best be defined? 3) Comparing mandatory expenditures and discretionary expenditures, which of the two claims a larger share of the federal budget, and was this always the case? If there has been a shift in the ratio between mandatory and discretionary expenditures, why has that shift occurred? 4) What percentage of its revenue did the federal government transfer to state and local governments in 2010? Did most of those transfers go to state or local governments? 5) In 2010, which OECD countries had lower taxes as a percentage of GDP than the United States? In comparison with other OECD countries, the U.S. relies on which form of tax the least? 6) According to the “Taxes and the Budget” report, what is the time line utilized by the Congressional Budget Office for its budget baseline (i.e. how many years ahead does the CBO project its budget baseline), and what is the timeline for Office of Management and Budget? By 2012, which budget projection (CBO or OMB) shows a larger budget surplus, and what is a reason for that? 7) Based on the report, but in your own words, explain why short-run budget projections tend to be highly inaccurate, and, based on the report, identify one reason that very long term budget projections tend to be more accurate and credible. 8) Based on the report, but in your own words, cite two (2) reasons why entitlement spending is considered “ uncontrollable”. On the other hand, how can entitlement spending be curbed or “controlled”? 9) Based on the report, but in your own words, explain the meaning of tax “extenders”, and explain why Congress enacts so many of these provisions? 10) According to the report, which are the only two entities in the federal budget that were at one time “on-budget” but are now “ off-budget”?