Budget Process

For years as America’s debt has increased and budgets created to stall it have not been too impressive with most, the people of the U.S. have become frustrated with the lack of progress. Ideas are thrown out that seem good in theory, but behind every cut or addition of a program there always seems to be a negative. These concerns are what the members of the legislative branch have to deal with when deciding on a budget. Congress must weigh every factor before passing a budget and it is not as easy as it may seem.

            In the budget simulation game I noticed that every card had a significant pro and con. This makes it difficult to cut things because it will always affect someone and those people will fight the budget plan. There’s obviously no solution that will please everyone but that is an important factor for the Congress. They need to make the most people happy while doing what’s best for the country. This is when prioritizing comes into play. If Congress truly believes that a budget will impact the country in a positive way, even if many people will be upset with it, they will have to make that decision; is it worth it?

            Another thing that Congress has to keep in mind is whether they need to find something that will be a short or long term plan. Of course a budget that will be effective will most likely be for the long term because the deficit will not diminish quickly, but sometimes a short term plan will lead to other possibilities. By cutting or changing certain programs that will have an immediate effect on the debt, there is a possibility that this money will help to keep moving in the right direction. Even making a small impression on the debt could help in the future.

            Balancing the budget is also very difficult because most cuts will result in job losses. In the current economic condition, job losses are not what this country needs. I believe that the economy has to be in a better condition before we can make a sufficient dent in the debt. Any step that involves the loss of jobs will outrage a lot of people and I doubt any member of the government is willing to have that on their shoulders at this point.

            Before this activity, I expected there to be a lot of programs with wasteful spending that could be cut without any repercussions. After looking through all the cards I realized how difficult it must be to create a budget. There are so many factors that Congress has to think about and when it comes to something as crucial as our countries’ large and increasing debt, they have to be right with every decision.