The Politics of Public Budgeting Getting and Spending, Borrowing and Balancing Seventh Edition Irene S. Rubin Northern Illinois University»SAGE,ü CQPRESS Los Angeles London New Delhi Singapore Washington DC
Contents Tables, Figures, and Minicases ix Preface xii Acknowledgments xvi 1. The Politics of Public Budgets 1 What Is Budgeting? 2 Minicase: The Time Dimension of Budgeting Pensions in San Diego 5 Governmental Budgeting 6 Minicase: City Manager Replies to Scathing Budget Critique 8 Minicase: Persistence ofearmarking 14 Minicase: Doctoring Audit Reports 22 Minicase: The Federal Debt Limit as a Constraint 24 Minicase: Highly Constrained Budgeting Colorados TABOR Amendment 26 The Meaning of Politics in Public Budgeting 27 Budgetary Decision Making 29 Microbudgeting and Macrobudgeting 32 Summary and Conclusions 35 Useful Websites 36 2. Revenue Politics 38 Raising Taxes 39 Minicase: Dayton Raises Taxes 41 v
vi The Politics of Public Budgeting Minicase: A Contemporary Tax Increase in Philadelphia 43 The Politics of Protection 45 Minicase: California and Enterprise Zone Tax Breaks 53 Minicase: North Carolina and Business Tax Breaks 56 Minicase: New Mexico and Tax Expenditure Reporting 59 Tax Reform 59 Minicase: Georgia Tax Reform Left Hanging 63 Minicase: Michigan Tax Reform or Class Warfare? 65 Summary and Conclusions 65 Useful Websites 66 3. The Politics of Process 67 Budget Process and the Characteristics of Public Budgeting 68 Minicase: Harrisburg Whose Priorities Dominate? 70 Macro-and MicroPolitics 71 Designing Process to Achieve Policy and Political Goals 72 Minicase: Republican Macrolevel Reform Proposais 73 Minicase: Micropolitics Bending the Rules to Win Individual Decisions 76 Minicase: How the Governor's Veto Is Used 81 Variation between and among Federal, State, and Local Governments 84 Minicase: Limits of Governor's Vetoes in New Mexico 86 Minicase: San Diego Fiscal Problems, StrongMayor, and Veto Powers 90 Summary and Conclusions 95 Useful Websites 96 4. The Dynamics of Changing Budget Processes 97 Overview 99 Minicase: New York State Powerful Governor, Weak Legislature, Informal Budgeting 100 Federal Budget Process Changes 102 Minicase: Deeming Resolutions and Ad Hoc Budgeting 112 Minicase: Ad Hoc Scoring Rules 114 Changes in Budget Process at the State Level 118 Minicase: Marylands Legislative Budget Power 120 Minicase: South Carolinas Legislatively Dominated Budget Process 121 Minicase: The Executive and the Legislature in Floridas Budgeting 124
Contents vii Changes in Budget Process at the Local Level 127 Minicase: Florida and Unfunded Mandates 133 Summary and Conclusions 137 Useful Websites 138 5. Expenditures: Strategies, Structures, and the Environment 140 Strategies 141 Minicase: A $17,000 Drip Pan 142 Minicase: Homeland Security A Program Tied to a Goal of Unlimited Worth 145 Minicase: Congressional Budget Office and Scoring 146 Structure 146 Minicase: Higher Education Direct Loans and Loan Guarantees 147 Minicase: California and Mandatory Spending on Redevelopment Agencies 154 Minicase: Fannie and Freddie 156 Minicase: New Jerseys Fund Diversion from the Unemployment Insurance Fund 158 The Environment 161 Strategy, Structure, and Environment Combined: The Medicare Example 162 Summary and Conclusions 169 Useful Websites 170 6. The Politics of Balancing the Budget 172 Balance as a Constraint 175 Minicase: Is the Wisconsin Budget Balanced? 176 Minicase: Balance in the Federal Highway Trust Fund 177 Multiple Actors, Ideologies, and Deficits 179 The Environment, Unpredictability, and Deficits 182 Increasing Stress between Payer and Decider 184 The Politics of Deficits: The Federal Level 187 The Politics of Deficits: States 192 Minicase: What Happened to Harrisburg? 205 Minicase: What Happened in Jefferson County, Alabama? 206 The Politics of Balance in Cities 208 Minicase: The Politics of Deficits An Urban Example 210 Summary and Conclusions 212 Useful Websites 213
viii The Politics of Public Budgeting 7. Budget Execution: The Politics of Adaptation 215 Tools for Changing the Budget 217 Minicase: Herbert Hoover and Legislative Vetoes 225 Minicase: The National Weather Service Reprogramming 230 Summary and Conclusions 234 Useful Websites 235 8. Budget Implementation and Control 236 The Discretion-Abuse-Control Cycle 236 Discretion and Control: The Politics of Finding Waste, Fraud, and Abuse 237 Minicase: Tension at the CIA 242 Minicase: Getting Too Close to Administration IGs at the Department of State and NASA 245 Minicase: President Obama Fires an IG 253 Minicase: The Massachusetts Inspector General versus the Governor 266 Minicase: New York State and Medicaid 268 Summary and Conclusions 274 Useful Websites 275 9. Budgetary Decision Making and Politics 276 Real-Time Budgeting 276 A Comparison of the Decision-Making Streams 279 Common Themes 281 Reconceptualizing Reform 287 Avenues for Research 291 Summary and Conclusions 293 Useful Websites 295 Notes 296 Author Index 310 Subject Index 313 About the Author 324