Questions tagged [budget]
An estimate of costs, revenues, and resources over a specified period, reflecting a reading of future financial conditions and goals
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Have any countries managed to consistently reduce government expenses as a share of GDP?
In the US, government spending as a share of GDP has been consistently increasing for decades.
Have any countries managed to invert that trend and consistently reduce the share of government expenses ...
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Why is today's announcement (23/09/2022) a mini budget and not an actual budget
Today's announcement by Kwasi Kwarteng has been called a mini-budget.
Given that it's included changes to income tax, national insurance, corporation tax, Stamp Duty, IR35, Strike legislation and ...
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From where does the term "economy in government" originate?
Former US Senator and Virginia Governor Harry F. Byrd Sr. (Dem) once said "I stand for strict economy in governmental affairs". Is this a well known phrase? From where does it originate?
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Maintenance of nuclear vs conventional forces: what's the exchange rate?
Clearly, maintaining a nuclear arsenal can be a costly proposition. The area dedicated to nuclear weapons storage and the maintenance cost of keeping it operational and secure is probably non-trivial....
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Why does the USA have such a large military?
In terms of protecting their borders the USA have one to the south with Mexico and one to the north (or east if you're Alaska) with Canada, neither of which seem like likely invaders. Contrast this to ...
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Does the US Air Force "Rocket Cargo" project have any notable proponents in Congress?
CNBC's June 4, 2021 article The Pentagon wants to use private rockets like SpaceX’s Starship to deliver cargo around the world says:
The U.S. Air Force said Friday is expanding a small development ...
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Could Mali pay by themselves a mercenary army?
Mali has been criticised by ECOWAS for the deployment of Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group. The Mali government immediately rejected the accusation claiming that there was no deployment of ...
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What new reconciliation powers has Schumer obtained?
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell just sent a letter to President Biden explaining why Senate Republicans don't intend to vote to raise the debt ceiling, which needs to be raised by October 18 to ...
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Just what does a $3.5 trillion spending package mean?
We are now two days into October 2021; and two days into the new federal fiscal year, FY2022. It seems like a good time to take stock.
We've got the President's complete, authentic online version of ...
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What is the view of Joe Biden on having a balanced budget?
As mentioned here a balanced budget used to have a decent amount of support among the American people. What is the view of Joe Biden on having a balanced budget?
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Recent polling on U.S. Balanced Budget (Amendment or other)?
A balanced budget for the federal government has long had strong popular support among the American people:
Has such public support continued past 2014? Can anyone cite more recent credible polling ...
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What is the point in having a debt ceiling when it can be relatively easily raised?
It makes some sense from a Machiavellian perspective; one can use the threat of a government shutdown to get concessions, but that's like playing chicken, and seems really irresponsible even if your ...
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Balanced budget (amendments) in U.S. States
I understand that 43 out of 50 U.S. states are constitutionally required to have balanced budgets. Are there identifiable trends in how and when these states implemented the requirement in their ...
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How can President Biden claim his Build Back Better Agenda costs zero dollars?
A @POTUS Twitter post over the weekend made some fiscal representations I'd like to understand.
President Biden
@POTUS
United States government official
My Build Back Better Agenda costs zero dollars....
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Why was Australia willing to pay $3.0 B/unit for the French diesel-electric submarines?
Note: All dollar values are USD.
One of the great advantages of diesel-electric attack submarines over nuclear-powered versions is that the former typically cost far less, so countries can purchase ...
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"$300 Million a day on Afghanistan" - so what happens to that money now?
President Biden, in his speech regarding the conclusion of the withdrawal from Afghanistan yesterday, mentioned that it is estimated that 300 million USD per day was spent on the war in Afghanistan ...
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Did congress increase the U.S. Capitol Police budget by $2 Billion?
I've seen a discussion that implies there was a vote to increase the Capitol Police budget by $2 Billion, while the DC metropolitan police budget has been cut. It is also being suggested that the ...
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Can Congress really raise or suspend the debt ceiling through budget reconciliation with a simple majority in the Senate?
Some background info here
The federal debt ceiling has currently been suspended until August 1.
If this year so far is any indication, Senate Republicans will do everything possible to use a debt-...
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How can the U.S. government ensure that the black budget is spent appropriately?
The black budget is a secret budget for covert operation. How can the U.S. government ensure that the money is spent appropriately and people don't spend it for personal reasons or other reasons not ...
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How is Switzerland able to maintain low tax levels?
Looking at the countries with the lowest tax rate we can see many countries that derive their riches from oil supplies and thus can afford to have a low income tax rate and a low VAT rate. But there ...
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What parts of Biden’s proposals could be eligible for budget reconciliation?
President Biden addressed a joint session of congress on April 29 and proposed vast new federal social programs such as free community college and subsidized childcare for low-income and middle-class ...
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How are UK devolved nation’s budget deficits funded?
The Scottish Government has tax raising powers and, over the past several years, expanded spending powers too.
However, I’m wondering how budget deficits for these devolved administrations are funded. ...
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How does one determine the source of funds (money) for a government expenditure?
When a government decides to spend money, they have 3 primary choices (please correct me if I'm mistaken):
Spend money they already have (from taxes)
Borrow money (from people/organizations within ...
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What is the impact of a minimum wage increase on the Biden 1.9 T dollar Covid Relief Proposal
The Biden administration has proposed a Covid relief package that would cost 1.9 trillion dollars. Some politicians are very resistant to the inclusion of a increase in minimum wage to 15.00 dollars ...
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Why was the Union Budget presented in the Lok Sabha (lower house) instead of the Rajya Sabha (upper house)?
Why was the Union Budget presented in the Lok Sabha (lower house) instead of the Rajya Sabha (upper house)?
Recently The Union Budget of India for 2021–2022 was presented by the Finance Minister, ...
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Is the COVID relief package the same legislation as the omnibus bill?
There is a lot of news about the $900 billion COVID relief package passed by Congress on 12/21/2020. There is less news about the $1.4 trillion spending bill that was passed. However, a lot of people ...
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What is the domestic background to the new Swedish defense budget?
Sweden's new defense measures include considerable increases in military capacity for the entirety of their Armed Forces. What are the stances of the main parties on this policy (beyond an agreement ...
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What happens if there's a veto on the European Union budget?
Recently Hungary and Poland vetoed (or formally just threaten to use a veto) on the EU budget (see for example here). What happens in 2021 if there's no accepted budget? The referred article mentions ...
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What is the total cost of the administration of the US 2020 presidential election?
The US 2020 presidential election seems to be a costly enterprise to the taxpayers. What is the total cost of the administration of the US 2020 presidential election?
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Why does Germany have such a rather small defense budget?
This article deals with Germany’s Armed Forces status in the context of Trump's decision to reduce US troops stationed in Germany.
Besides the main topic, the article also mentions that Germany spends ...
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Does the US account for inter-generational equity/imbalances when producing fiscal policy?
There are many studies concerned with how various generations subsidize each other, usually assuming current laws hold for all future generations. Do any government agencies (like CBO, the Treasury, ...
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Do any nations have in place formal mechanisms to "save in good years/spend in bad years"?
One tenet of Keynesian economics is that a government can improve long term economic efficiency, and individual well-being, by deficit spending during recessions.
Some examples of that might be:
US ...
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On what kind of schedule does the US make payments to the WHO?
I've been wondering whether Trump's cutting of funds to the WHO has had any practical effect on the WHO's budget so far. Basically, how often does the US disburse funds to the WHO? Is it annually, ...
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What explains the large year-to-year variation in US voluntary contributions to the WHO?
The US is usually the largest contributor to the WHO's budget (with some odd year exception when the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation gave a bit more than the US government.)
But nonetheless, there ...
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What prevented the Tampon Tax from being abolished?
Today, in his first Budget speech, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, has announced that "now that we have left the European Union", the Tampon Tax - the controversial imposition of VAT on ...
CDJB♦
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Why deliberate NASA authorization bills if NASA doesn't need them?
Spacenews.com's The sound and fury over a NASA authorization bill says that a NASA authorization bill isn't required and most years the US Congress doesn't pass one.
Question: If that's so, then what ...
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What are the current House's bill reconciliation rules regarding deficit increases?
According to The Center on Budget and Policy page, "Introduction to Budget 'Reconciliation'":
When Republicans took the House in 2011, they replaced the House rule with one that placed no ...
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Why is the British Chancellor allowed to drink alcohol in the House of Commons chamber?
On the parliament.uk site's information about the annual budget, it describes the tradition of "Despatch box drinks", where the Chancellor is afforded the privilege to drink alcohol at the despatch ...
CDJB♦
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How does the Barnett Formula work?
I've often heard the Barnett Formula come up in debates regarding the topic of Scottish independence, and I know it relates in some way to the mechanism used to determine the amount of money allocated ...
CDJB♦
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Why are US budget implications estimated "over 10 years"?
The federal budget in the US is proposed and approved annually. However, analysts and commentators very often explain budgetary measures "will cost X USD over 10 years" or "cuts program P by X USD ...
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Graph of US military spending a percentage of GDP
I found a (North America proxy) graph of US military spending in absolute real terms (i.e. adjusted for inflation).
As you can see, in absolute terms, even adjusting for inflation, the US has spent ...
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Do bipartisan/cohabitation budgets widen the deficit more than one-party budgets?
I've read in a paper that I can't find araing right now that supermajority requirements (in state budgets) tend increase deficit spending because more "pork barrel" interest are included.
If we ...
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Is there a (detailed) comparison of what the White House requested and what Congress approved for the HHS for FY2020?
To give you an idea what I'm looking for, I found such a comparison for science:
I'm looking for a similar graph/comparison for the HHS, which includes the NIH, FDA, CDC, SAMHSA, Medicare & ...
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Why was the budget for the Center of Disease Control being cut drastically?
Right now, the CDC - according to The Trust for America's Health (TFAH)- says that the Center of Disease Control is underfunded by $4.5 billion and an act passed on December 22, 2017 cut $750 million ...
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State government debt in India
I had a look at the Delhi Government Budget for the year 2019-20 (see here: http://prsindia.org/parliamenttrack/budgets/delhi-budget-analysis-2019-20), and was wondering about the composition of the ...
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What countries require a supermajority for budget approval?
A few US states require or required a supermajority in the legislature to pass the annual budget. The issue is somewhat complicated by the fact that in some states some budgetary items/issues require ...
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Why does California spend so much on healthcare?
Taking a look at the California State budget, one can see that 46% of their taxpayers' money goes towards healthcare costs. But why is this the case? Isn't healthcare generally a federal concern, with ...
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How does the government purchase things?
After congress passes a budget and the president signs it, how are the funds acquired and how are they spent? Let's use the example: The defense budget has line items for the Department of Defense to ...
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UK Private Sector Receipts from the EU
The UK's membership fee in 2018 according to full fact goes from a £17bn gross payment, less rebate and public sector spending to a £9bn net payment.
Specifically, this image shows this does not ...
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What is the UK equivalent of the American Congressional Budget Office?
Is there any body in the UK that parallels the American Congressional Budget Office? One that could give a best estimate of the costs of various Brexit options? Obviously it’s very complex and the ...
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