The politics of public budgeting : getting and spending, borrowing and balancing / created by Irene S. Rubin

Includes bibliographical references (pages 322-339) and indexes.

1. The Politics of Public Budgets What Is Budgeting? Governmental Budgeting Minicase: City Manager Replies to Scathing Budget Critique Minicase: Missouri Constitutional Amendment Reduces Governor's Powers Minicase: The Courts and New Jersey Pension Reform Minicase: Doctoring Audit Reports Minicase: The Federal Debt Limit as a Constraint Minicase: Highly Constrained Budgeting-Colorado's TABOR Amendment The Meaning of Politics in Public Budgeting Budgetary Decision-Making Microbudgeting and Macrobudgeting Summary and Conclusions Useful Websites2. Revenue Politics Raising Taxes Minicase: Louisiana-Getting Around the No Tax Increase Pledge Minicase: A Recent Tax Increase in Philadelphia The Politics of Protection Minicase: Wisconsin and Unexamined Tax Breaks Minicase: Illinois and the Role of the Press Minicase: Tax Breaks for Hedge Fund Managers Minicase: California and Enterprise Zone Tax Breaks Minicase: North Carolina and Business Tax Breaks Minicase: Michigan-Terminating Its Film Subsidy Minicase: New Mexico and Tax Expenditure Reporting Tax Reform Minicase: Georgia Tax Reform Left Hanging Minicase: Michigan Tax Reform or Class Warfare? Summary and Conclusions Useful Websites3. The Politics of Process Budget Process and the Characteristics of Public Budgeting Minicase: Harrisburg-Whose Priorities Dominate? Macro- and Micropolitics Minicase: Republican Macrolevel Reform Proposals Designing Process to Achieve Policy and Political Goals Minicase: Micropolitics-Bending the Rules to Win Individual Decisions Minicase: How the Governor's Veto Is Used Variation Between and Among Federal, State, and Local Governments Minicase: Maine-The Governor Versus the Legislature Minicase: Limits of Governor's Vetoes in New Mexico Minicase: San Diego-Fiscal Problems, Strong Mayor, and Veto Powers Summary and Conclusions Useful Websites4. The Dynamics of Changing Budget Processes Overview Minicase: New York State-Powerful Governor, Weak Legislature, Informal Budgeting Minicase: The Governor Versus the Courts Federal Budget Process Changes Minicase: Deeming Resolutions and Ad Hoc Budgeting Minicase: Ad Hoc Scoring Rules Minicase: Overseas Contingency Operations Changes in Budget Process at the State Level Minicase: Maryland's Legislative Budget Power Minicase: South Carolina's Legislatively Dominated Budget Process Begins to Budge Minicase: The Executive and the Legislature in Florida's Budgeting Changes in Budget Process at the Local Level Minicase: Florida and Unfunded Mandates Summary and Conclusions Useful Websites5. Expenditures: Strategies, Structures, and the Environment Strategies Minicase: A $17,000 Drip Pan Minicase: Homeland Security-A Program Tied to a Goal of Unlimited Worth Minicase: Amtrak Train Wreck Minicase: Congressional Budget Office and Scoring Structure Minicase: Budgetary Implications of Direct College Loans Versus Loan Guarantees Minicase: An Open-Ended Discretionary Program-Immigration Enforcement Minicase: California and Mandatory Spending on Redevelopment Agencies Minicase: Fannie and Freddie Minicase: New Jersey's Fund Diversion From the Unemployment Insurance Fund The Environment Strategy, Structure, and Environment Combined: The Medicare Example Summary and Conclusions Useful Websites6. The Politics of Balancing the Budget Balance as a Constraint Minicase: Is the Wisconsin Budget Balanced? Minicase: Balance in the Federal Highway Trust Fund Multiple Actors, Ideologies, and Deficits The Environment, Unpredictability, and Deficits Increasing Stress Between Payer and Decider Minicase: Chicago's Parking Meters Minicase: Iowa's Privatization of Medicaid The Politics of Deficits: The Federal Level The Politics of Deficits: States Minicase: Detroit Bankruptcy Minicase: Why Did Jefferson County, Alabama, Declare Bankruptcy? The Politics of Balance in Cities Minicase: The Politics of Deficits-An Urban Example Summary and Conclusions Useful Websites7. Budget Execution: The Politics of Adaptation Minicase: Missouri-An Executive Abuses Discretion? Tools for Changing the Budget Minicase: Using Holdbacks to Change Legislative Priorities-Maryland Minicase: Herbert Hoover and Legislative Vetoes Minicase: The National Weather Service Reprogramming Summary and Conclusions Useful Websites8. Controlling Waste, Fraud, and Abuse The Politics of Finding Waste, Fraud, and Abuse Minicase: President Obama Fires an IG Minicase: Who Guards the Guards? Not the Guards Themselves Minicase: Acting IG for Homeland Security-Too Close to the Department Minicase: New York State and Medicaid Minicase: The Massachusetts Inspector General Versus the Governor Minicase: Baltimore's Departing IG Summary and Conclusions Useful Websites9. Budgetary Decision-Making and Politics Real-Time Budgeting A Comparison of the Decision-Making Streams Common Themes Reconceptualizing Reform Avenues for Research Summary and Conclusions

Lays out the actors involved-interest groups, public officials, legislators, and the public-and shines a light on how these groups, who each have their own goals, are able to bargain and barter their way to a resolution.