...of Nebraska has a biennium budget that is set from 2013 all the way to 2015. Knowing what is in your budget and how to properly gauge what will be needed for the coming two years in each department is an important aspect to a successful budget. The person in charge of the budget for each department needs to know how to properly budget and respond to the needs of the state in the most fiscal way possible. A budget is only as good as the person who is running it. The Nebraska State budget is complex, but with the right amount of team work and dedication, it seems to run very smoothly. Nebraska State Budget The Nebraska State budget is set on a biennium basis. Since this is the case the budget will need to be looked at for the next two years. The thing to keep in mind is the total “Budgeted Amount” for the Budget Status Report should reflect all “new” appropriations authorized by the Legislature for fiscal year 2013-14 as well as any appropriations from fiscal year 2012-13 that will carry over to the current budget. Having a Budget Status Report satisfies the requirement to provide an estimate of fiscal year expenditures. The Nebraska State Budget should be conducted in a responsible manner that reflects the most efficient use of the state’s money (NCSL, 2013). Budget Information The State of Nebraska’s budget is done on a biennium basis. The Governor’s budget recommendations play an important role in the budget making process. The budget is decided two years at a time...
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...Constitution Constitutional Amendments: • Founding Fathers initially desired TO MAKE AMENDMENT DIFFICULT although they had recognized the need for eventually doing so. • TWO-STAGE PROCESS – The processes required super-majorities of more than 50% such as two-thirds or a three-quarters majority. • Once the amendment has been proposed it is sent to the states for ratification. An amendment can be ratified by three-quarters of the state legislatures or by state constitutional conventions in three-quarters of the states. Of the 27 amendments to the constitution only one has been ratified by state constitutional conventions – The 21st amendment which repealed the 18th amendment and ended prohibition. • Only six amendments have failed at the ratification stage in over 220 years. The most recent was the amendment designed to guarantee equal rights for women. Proposed in 1972, only 35 state legislatures ratified it – three short of the required ¾. Amendments proposed by: Amendments ratified by: Congress: 2/3 majority in both houses required State legislature: ¾ of the state legislature must vote to ratify National constitutional convention: called by at least 2/3s of the states State constitutional convention: ¾ of the states must hold conventions and vote to ratify The Bill of Rights were a group of ten amendments proposed together by Congress in September 1789 and ratified together by ¾ of the states in December 1791. The Bill of Rights was created to sugar the impact of...
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...When national revenues total equals to or exceed total expense in a fiscal year denotes a balanced budget. Emphasis needs mentioning that a balanced budget refers to either a situation where there is neither a budget deficit nor a budget surplus. Put simply, revenues equal expenses or exceed costs, but not where expenses exceed revenues. Proponents of a balanced national budget uphold it will condense interest rates, increase savings and investments and further economic growth with favorable balance of trade deficits. Rather, Keynesian arguments against a balanced national budget appeal to the reasoning given that public sector operations usually have multiple and conflicting objectives with no standard measure of the returns of innumerable programs (Mikesell, 2014). However, adherence to a rigid balanced national budget might jeopardize the most potent of means to an efficient economy, opening risks of slower growth, increased unemployment, poverty, and inequality. Further, a balanced budget might limit government's ability to use countercyclical fiscal policy forcing spending cuts when a stimulus is most needed. Recessions would be longer and more severe, and long-term growth prospects worsen. A balanced national budget would be a national security disaster, as wars and other national security initiatives cost money, and a balanced budget will result in significant tax increases in case of emergencies. Most economists agree that the federal government needs to spend more...
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...1) Balanced budget amendments are believed to be destabilizing. Explain why this is so. Answer: The balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution is a rule requiring states to reframe from spending above their income. Which requires a balance of spending on projects and the expenditures of the government. There are provisions that allow exceptions for war times, national emergencies or recessions allowing the suspension of the rule by a supermajority vote. This method has been highly criticized and ill-advised because of it economical effects. By the requirement of yearly budget, even in a "good economy", the weaker economies would be at greater risk of tipping into recession and making them longer and more serious. It could result in larger job losses. The amendment would force spending cuts, raised taxes on a weak economy or one already in recession. In a slow economy, the federal revenues does not grow as fast as it once did and beings to spend more in unemployment insurance as well as other social programs that increase in times of need. The deficits then begin to rise. 2) Explain what is meant by automatic stabilizers and how they work to minimize fluctuations in economic activity. Answer: The automatic stabilizers is exactly what it sounds like. These are programs that stabilizes the economical cycles automatically and without government intrusion. The economic policies and programs designed to offset fluctuations in a nation's economy is what is referred...
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...Across the nation, there are some states that are attempting to add the 28th Amendment. This amendment would require the U.S. budget to limit the amount of spending in America, and as a result the debt. Specifically, it is Republicans who are trying to pass this amendment and have done so since the early to mid-1990s. This week, 19 Republican lawmakers and 71 Republican delegates, from different states, are meeting in Arizona. They plan to propose the amendment through the process of using a National Convention. 2/3 of the state legislatures must request for the convention to occur, and they currently have 27. However, many people are not happy with these states actions. Democrats have refused to show and some people are in outrage. Outside the convention hall, people are claiming they shouldn’t change the Constitution this way...
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...RESEARCH - ANALYSIS - SOLUTIONS CCPA R e v i e w E c o n o m i c & S o c i a l Tr e n d s September 2012 Income Inequality in Canada: How does Manitoba compare? Can we do better? The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has been documenting the rise in inequality in Canada since 2006. More recently, the Conference Board of Canada and the OECD have confirmed this trend. These organizations also report that inequality in Canada is now increasing faster than is the case in many other countries. In their highly acclaimed 2009 book The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better, Wilkinson and Pickett showed the impact of inequality on a variety of measures such as levels of crime, teenage pregnancies, life expectancy and educational achievement (to name a few). The study concluded that countries that are most equal do best. If Canada wants to measure up to more equal countries, the growing gap between rich and poor will need to be addressed. The federal government has the most important role to play in redressing the imbalance. CCPA and others have suggested how poverty and inequality can be tackled through improved policies and programs, and better redistribution of wealth through taxes and transfers at the federal level. But provincial governments also have a responsibility. A recent study in Ontario shows that province to be the most unequal. Our analysis looks at the trend in inequality across Canada with a focus on measuring progress in Manitoba...
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...the Founding Fathers years ago but it could be adapted to suit the modern era by the amendment process however there have been just 27 amendments passed with a mere 17 in the last 210 years. The first and probably most significant reason is that the Founding Fathers deliberately made the amendment process difficult. There is a formal process for amending the constitution which involves proposal and ratification. When an amendment to the constitution is proposed, it must be passed by both houses of the Congress by a two-thirds majority. Then it goes on to be passed by either the legislatures or conventions in the states, where it must be ratified by ¾ (38 states) of them. A second method (never used) is to get 2/3 of the legislatures of the states to call for a constitutional convention at which one or more amendments are proposed. If passed, any and all amendments from this convention would then have to be passed by 3/4 of the state legislatures or conventions again. The convention method has never been used to propose an amendment. It has been used to ratify one, which was the 21st Amendment, repealing the 18th Amendment, which was national prohibition. This process has seen many proposals fall short of been passed as laws as even proposals which lose by just a single vote are not passed such as the 1995 balanced budget proposal which lost out in the senate. Another reason for rare amendment is that the Founding Fathers created a document that was, at least in parts, deliberately...
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...American Politics Final Exam Questions 1. In the design of the United States government, Congress was given the legislative power. It "makes the laws" for the nation. a. What procedure does the Constitution require for Congress to make law? Article I of the Constitution "all legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives." The House and Senate are equal partners in the legislative process––legislation cannot be enacted without the consent of both chambers. First, any bill for raising money (such as by taxes or fees) must start out in the House. All bills must pass both houses of Congress in the exact same form. Bills that pass both houses are sent to the President. He can either sign the bill, in which case it becomes law, or he can veto it. In the case of a veto, the bill is sent back to Congress, and if both houses pass it by a two-thirds majority, the bill becomes law over the President's veto. b. Describe the legislative process utilized today, above and beyond the Constitutional requirements. The general process for making a bill into law is described in the Constitution. First, a bill needs to be drafted. You do not need to be a member of congress to draft a bill. For example lobbyists and other congressional staff can draft a bill, but only a member of congress can introduce legislation. Bills then get referred to standing committees. Once referred, the bill...
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...consume, calculate how much government purchases, taxes, or transfers should be changed. 3. Explain why an equal increase (decrease) in government purchases and net taxes (taxes minus transfers) has an expansionary (contractionary) effect. 4. What is the balanced budget multiplier? 5. Explain why discretionary fiscal policy has not been very effective in reducing recessions in the United States. 6. What are the “time lags”? 7. What is meant by "automatic stabilization"? What are the main automatic stabilizers? 8. What is meant by "official budget deficit"? by "structural deficit"? Why is the structural budget deficit a better measure of the intent of fiscal policy? 9. What does it mean that "fiscal policy is expansionary (or contractionary)"? How does one determine whether fiscal policy is expansionary or contractionary? 10. In what ways might budget deficits be bad for an economy? In what ways might they be good for an economy? 11. What is meant by “crowding-out”? 12. Explain the relation between the budget deficits and the trade deficits. 13. What is meant by the "national debt"? What is the difference between "budget deficit" and "national debt"? What is the difference between "gross national debt" and "net national debt"? 14. What is the difference between a Treasury bill, a Treasury note, and a...
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...___________________________________________________________ Date: ___________________ Directions: Answer the following questions using the film Ten Trillion and Counting Film. You have to work to understand and then think critically about the answers. 1. What is a budget deficit? 2. What is the total national debt as of Obama’s inauguration day? _____________________________ 3. Name three countries that loan money to the U.S. government. What instruments do they receive to guarantee their loans? 4. According to Greg Ip of The Economist, President Bush's economic policy of cutting taxes and spending through borrowing was "politically smart" rather than "economically smart." Do you agree or disagree? Explain. 5. Why do you believe Ronald Reagan passed one of the largest tax increases during his administration? 6. How did the U.S. government pay for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq? 7. What impact did spending for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have on the budget deficit? 8. Explain the idea behind the Republican “starve the beast” philosophy. 9. On several occasions, a balanced budget amendment has been proposed as law but not passed by Congress (similar to PAYGO). What would be the advantages and disadvantages of having such a law? 10. Most economists agree that both tax cuts and additional spending are needed to stimulate...
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...Week 3 Assignment Teketreun Prince ECO 203 Principles of Macroeconomics Instructor Nathan Rondeau March 24, 2014 The efforts to reduce the deficit and debt in the United States budget has two different views. There is some politicians who think more spending is the best short term solution. The other side believe in a smaller government role will benefit the deficit and debt through a long term solution. In 1985, the deficit was over 200 billion and there was a plan put in place to reduce it. Aftermany years of talk about a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, which would require a balanced budget on an annual basis,Congress passed the Gramm–Rudman–Hollings Act in 1985. (Amacher, R., Pate, J., 2012) This act was a strategic plan to reduce the deficit to zero in a certain time period. This act is a good guideline to start from, but it doesn’t project things like war or aids that usually sends the budget in another direction. The projection to the economy direction is important as well, in order to reduce spending and slowly repay the deficit. There is one group believes a cut in federal spending and small tax increase will reduce the deficit and debt quickly. This is one reason that deficit in the earlier years where reduce in a good timely manner with a small affect. The other group of people would like to increase taxes and spend more, in order to pay the debt off. The Clinton era was the last to have surplus in the federal government with a...
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...Mandatory Service People are fond of saying that this is a free country. What they are less apt to state is that freedom is not free. There is a cost to maintaining the freedoms we so often take for granted. In furtherance of that cost I would propose a coast amendment that all able-bodied young Americans devote at least two years of their lives in support of their country. That support would be in the form of military or civil duty. This country was founded by individuals who gave their time, money and sometimes lives to create a society where all have the same opportunity to succeed, or at the very least are not barred from succeeding. That opportunity comes with a cost. Monetary cost in the way of taxes to support this system. Also costs in the way of manpower and intellect. It is my belief that the intellectual support is as important, if not more so, then the physical. Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison’s work in the federalist papers, can be argued, were as important to the American Revolution as any accomplishment on the battlefield. To that I would define able-bodied as anyone not physically or mentally handicapped that can or does hold a full or part time employment or anyone who is not able to hold a job as determined by the Social Security Administration guidelines. I would define young as anyone between the ages of eighteen and twenty-six. Therefore the service could be before people begin college, trade school, or a career. The service can be...
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...federal and state requirements regarding their current residency, immigration status, and documentation that they are a U.S. citizen. The Affordable Care Act of 2010 helped to expand Medicaid in 2014. “The Affordable Care Act provides Americans with better health security by putting in place comprehensive health insurance reforms that will: * Expand coverage, * Hold insurance companies accountable, * Lower health care costs, * Guarantee more choice, and * Enhance the quality of care for all Americans. Most recently, the MMA of 2003 included increases in DSH state allotments for 2004-2011 and added requirements for an independently certified annual audit. Figure 8.14 shows DSH funds as a percentage of the total Medicaid budget. The Affordable Care Act actually refers to two separate pieces of legislation — the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148) and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-152) — that, together expand Medicaid coverage to millions of low-income Americans and makes numerous improvements to both Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)” (medicaid.gov). Medicaid extends to any previously uncovered populations or receive federal...
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...Reforming the Federal Tax System On February 3, 2013 marked the 100th birthday of the 16th Amendment. The 16th Amendment paved the way for the creation of the federal income tax that continues to this day to have far reaching repercussions on the American tax payer. Before the ratification of the 16th Amendment, the birth of the federal income tax dates back to the Civil War. In order to finance the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln signed into law Revenue Act of 1861 on August 5, 1861. The Revenue Act consisted of a flat tax rate of 3% on income above $800 and 5% on individuals living outside of the United States. On July 1, 1861 United States Congress repealed the Revenue Act of 1861 and replaced it with the Revenue Act of 1862. The Revenue Act of 1862 introduced a progressive tax and established the Bureau of Internal Revenue. In 1872 Congress repealed the Revenue Act of 1862. One again elected officials tried to revive the federal income tax in 1894. However, in 1895 the federal income tax was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court because the tax was not apportioned according to the population of each state. In an address to Congress on June 16, 1909 President Howard Taft proposed that Congress consider a new amendment to the Constitution. “I recommend, then, first, the adoption of a joint resolution by two-thirds of both Houses, proposing to the States an amendment to the Constitution granting to the Federal Government the right to levy and collect an...
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...the worst economic period trailing the Great Depression. On his first term, President Reagan’s main objective was to address different economic problems through tax cut, decreased nondefense spending, increased defense spending and balanced budget. His policies brought success in stimulating the economy. He was able to improve the lives of the people and certain concerns during those times such as recession, unemployment and inflation. In 1985, while efforts have been made by President Reagan to uplift the economy, the US government was still beset by unbalanced budget due to deficits. Thus in his second term, he focused more in addressing this problem. However, the economic policies he implemented appeared to have created a setback in the country’s budget. In addition to the existing deficits prior to his term, deficits continued to increase. Objectives This paper aims to give an analysis on the cause and effect of the deficit problem Reagan faced in his second term and an analysis of the strategies he implemented in solving it. This paper also offers alternative strategies that would allow Reagan to reduce the deficits and balanced the budget. Analysis The Causes of the Budget Deficits This paper discusses three major cause of the budget deficit during Reagan’s term – tax cut, military spending and recession. The administration’s policy for tax cut was implemented to break the postwar trends to help the people and make an economic turnaround. Tax is the major source...
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