Thursday, January 14, 2016

Biennial Budgeting Is a Bad Idea That Won't Go Away

Those who pay just casual attention to the annual federal budget process can see that it's a mess. It's rarely completed on time, and it always seems to get bogged down by partisan bickering and political scheming. When the dust finally does settle, the result is usually a bloated conglomeration of goodies for countless special interests, who most likely had a better grasp of the contents than our elected representatives who voted on it.

This sorry state of affairs inevitably leads policymakers and observers to propose "fixes" to the budget process. One idea that's been gaining support in Washington is to move from an annual budget to a biennial budget (one that would cover two fiscal years). Supporters argue that it would give legislators more time to conduct oversight of federal programs and thus more time to weigh competing spending desires.

According to this fairy tale, the last-minute budget deals that people from all corners of the ideological spectrum end up criticizing could be avoided. Federal funds could be better targeted to those programs that "work," while those that "don't work" could be "fixed" or see funding cut. After that, the lamb would lie down with the lion while members of Congress hold hands and sing "Kumbaya."

http://reason.com/archives/2016/01/14/biennial-budgeting-is-a-bad-idea-that-wo

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