Participation in government operations and activities is very vital for every citizen. Even though a majority of the citizens chose not to participate in these programs, the constitution allows everyone to express their thoughts about an issue before its actual implementation. The United States is known to be a democratic state and before financing, governance and policy decisions are made, public participation is done. Therefore, in the case of this assignment, the students are urged to participate in the government programs and activities by attending the government meetings, serving as a representative or writing to the representatives so as to gather the necessary information which can enhance effective government partaking.
Due to the current budget crisis which is experienced in states since the recession, I decided to contact the Congress and two senators to determine the tenets of the budget and what constitutes the crisis. I did contact them by sending letters. All the letters were sent to the two senators on 5th of February 2018 where I got a prompt feedback from Senator Roy Blunt and John Barrasso. However, the meeting was scheduled for 10th April 2018 due to the tight work scheduled which they had. However, Congress Committee never gave any response to my letter. I again decided to review the application process and send another letter on 5th March 2018. I got the feedback after a day from the budget committee specifying the time and date which I should visit them for interview and budget orientations. The visit was scheduled to be on 10th of May 2018. The key theme was the budget development process as well as the core issues which cause a balance of payment deficit.
The power to create the budget is bestowed to the Congress and it is their mandate to do it every year. The appropriation bill should depict how much money will be allocated to different government agencies and programs. The Congress should also pass legislation that provides the government with the legal authority to spend the public funds. Besides, the authorization process allows the mandatory spending funds which comprise of the social security and Medicare benefits which must be paid to the recipients as per the law. The budget normally runs for a period of one year mainly from October 1st of year 1 to September 30th of the next year. Regardless of these strict laws before the preparation of the budget, the US economy has been deteriorating over time with a deficit projection of 13.7 trillion from April 2018 to 2027. It is thus 46% higher than the deficit baseline of $9.4 trillion set in the year 2017 (Gingrich, 2017).
It came with a surprise since I always hold the opinion that it is not easy to book an appointment with the members of the Senate or Senate budget committee. Their contact information was readily available and the response from them was positive and prompt. Due to nervousness, I did compose the letters and send them via email. The immediate feedback did boost my confidence and motivation as I was approaching to meet them in person. The first response I obtained was from Senator Roy Blunt after 2 hours from the time I sent it while the second one came from John Barrasso which I did receive late in the evening. These did go against my expectation since I was anticipating receiving the response after 3 weeks or in a month's time.
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Order an essayInitially, before the commencement of this project, I only knew that the preparation of the budget involves the preparation of revenues and expenditures. However, after interactions with the committee, I had come to realize that there is a strict process which is followed to ensure that the budget is created. These comprise of the submission of the budget request to the Congress by the president, the Senate passes the budget resolutions, the house, Senate Appropriation subcommittees mark up the appropriation bills and the House and Senate vote on appreciations bills and reconcile the differences. Finally, the president signs each appropriations bill which eventually becomes a law. It seems as if the preparation of the budget does not incorporate the public participation. However, given that the voice of the people is represented by the members of the Congress, then, when they vote, it is presumed that the public participation has been taken into consideration. Many a time, the members of the Congress consult their constituents to get their views about what is required before the allocation of resources to solve the problems which can arise in the budget allocation process.
However, in order to determine the causes and effect of the budget deficit, I took the consideration the input of senators Roy Blunt and John Barrasso. The senators disclosed that the current causes of the budget deficit can be linked to involuntary job loss, the Middle East war since September 11th, 2001, recession, a sudden increase in medical expenses, and adoption of the deficit financing as an expansionary monetary policy. These have subject the economy to severe economic turmoil by increasing the debt burden to the citizens of our nation. They also disclosed that the deficit normally arises when the government spends more money than what they receive in form of revenue. When the country is subjected to such situations, the living standards of the people tend to deteriorate over a given period of time.
Just like most of the American populace, the participation in government programs and issues has been through the voting process. However, through personal interactions with the members of the congress committee and senators have given me first-hand information which is very vital for the project as well as for personal use. It has given me confidence not to depend on the rumors but always get the information about budget preparation, budget deficit, and surplus and its approval from its source. Besides, the course is a very project since it enables the students like me to interact with the democratic government. I have learned that the administrative officers, as well as the elected representatives, are always willing to answer the public's inquiries. However, due to the negativity and prejudice which people hold, they normally miss the opportunity to interact with the leaders so as to express their views and receive information over the budgetary issues.
References
Arestis, P., Cipollini, A., & Fattouh, B. (2004). Threshold effects in the US budget deficit. Economic Inquiry, 42(2), 214-222.
Budget of the U.S. Government | USAGov. (2018, September 14). Retrieved from https://www.usa.gov/budget
Edwards III, G.C., Wattenberg, M.P., & Lineberry, R.L. (2014). Government in America: People, politics, and policy (16th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Gingrich, N. (2015). To renew America. New York: HarperCollins.
News, V. (2017, March 1). A Guide to US Federal Budget Process. Retrieved from https://www.voanews.com/a/guide-united-states-federal-budget-process/3746289.html
