FINAL EXAM STUDY GUIDE Blair Thomas Public Administration All the notes from June 1 10 2015 June 1 2015 Holzer and Schwester 2011 The Federal Budget Process Prior to 1921 the American budget process was in disarray and The executive branch especially the U S president had no formal role dominated by Congress in federal budget decisions until the passage of the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 signed by President Warren G Harding Preceded by Taft Commission in 1912 which made a couple of significant recommendations What does the OMB do Provides the following financial information to Congress Creation of Government Accountability Office GAO which reviews and audits the federal budget Creation of Bureau of Budget BOB Federal agency through which the president would prepare a federal budget It was replaced by Office of Management and Budget OMB in 1970 1 The amount of money the president is requesting for various federal agencies 2 The amount of money in taxes the federal government will collect in a fiscal year 3 Whether the federal government will have a deficit or surplus 4 The total amount of the deficit or surplus A budget is a plan regarding how revenues will be spent on a year to year basis Each years there is a cycle that includes the following steps 1 Budget Prep Where tax dollars will be spent 2 Budget Approval 3 Budget Implementation 4 Budget Auditing Ensures that allocation of budget to different government organizations is spent appropriately Types of Budgets Executive Prepared by leaders typically within the executive branch Examples include president governor county chairman mayor Legislative The budget is submitted to legislative body for approval Congress state legislature city council Prepared by a body of elected representatives Executive budgets are more prevalent because with one main person making decisions they are more efficient Operating Short term year to year budget that plans how resources will be allocated for public programs typically include infrastructure bridges buildings and quality of life projects such a sparks Long term plan that deals with financing projects that Capital Line Item Budget Performance Budget Displays how public money works best item by item Popular among local governments due to its simplicity From an accounting perspective very easy to follow Spending is tied directly to how well a department is performing Most common indicators are outputs and outcomes Central points of performance budgeting 1 Amount of work that is done is measured 2 Quality results of that work is measured 3 This impacts how much money a department will receive in the future Departments must defend their programs and funding Advantage Allows department leaders to establish priorities and say where cuts increases would be more acceptable than others Disadvantage Labor intensive Highly subjective See p Zero Based Budget annually 305 Planning Program Budgeting System Based on cost benefit analysis Presented as a benefit cost ratio if the costs are 1 0 then benefits are greater than its costs than an alternative June 3 2015 Where do Governments Get money Taxation of income wealth consumption Personal Income tax of an individuals wages salary the highest rate is 35 Traditionally from 1950 2010 this has been consistently where government gains most of its revenue Corporate income tax Depend on profitability of a business Payroll tax Employees and employers pay jointly Capital gains tax Sales of stocks bonds metals and real estate The highest rate is 15 Estate tax After someone dies federal government could collect depending on how much is there to tax Theories of Budgeting Key 1940 Budgeting quandary On what basis shall it be decided to allocate X dollars to activity A instead of activity B Solving the dilemma does not mean the establishment of a single paradigm or criteria by which budget decisions should be made Miller 1976 Lewis 1952 Rights Legal obligations Deserts Merit Utilitarianism Needs Redistributive Philosophy should determine organizational goals but economy and efficiency should serves a means of attaining goals Mikesell 1978 Brubaker 1997 Swedlow 2002 Objective of the budget process is to support public policies projects where value exceeds costs Tragedy of the budgetary commons The common pool should be used purely for public goods though it is often up for grabs among competing interests Cultural theory A basis for understanding budgetary decisions Culture influences budgetary decisions and often influences the actors and coalitions involved in the budgeting process Mitigate Ex My awful dinner at Oglesby was mitigated some by Mr To lesson offset Thomas giving me a Milky Way bar To intensify worsen Exacerbate Factors perceived to make ethical stress more intense Fiscal Stress It spurs efforts by external actors to gain benefits such as favors information or more favorable decisions Budgetary Process Involvement primary targets because they have something that external actors want Political Influence Balancing competing values interests creates more ethical stress than calculating the relative merits of competing proposals based on a single value 13 Mitigating Factors Supervisor s Engagement of Ethical Behavior Coworkers Ethical Behavior Feedback Adequacy Feedback Timeliness Professionalism Mentoring Experience Confirmed Schmidt and Posner s 1986 work that the behavior of superiors was considered the factor that influenced unethical behavior the most Findings confirm past studies from Wittmer and Coursey 1996 fiscal stress exacerbates ethical stress that Portrayal of citizens as obstructionists can be directly linked to their weak assigned role in the process To combat NIMBY Rabe 1994 argues that agencies must adopt broadly inclusive policies that can generate public trust Social Equality Social equity is rooted in the idea that each person is equal and has inalienable rights Significant conference for social equity Took place in Minnowbrook New York in 1968 Facilitated by PA scholar Dwight Waldo Marked beginning of New Public Administration Emphasis on four goals Relevance Value Equity Change Sustainable development or sustainable regeneration to justify investments in major sport events LITTLE EVIDENCE PROVES THAT THIS THE EFFECTS ARE LONG LASTING Research into Atlanta s Olympic Games provides further justification for concerns about the effects of events on vulnerable residents Residents who expressed a high level of attachment to their
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