Govenment Budgeting essays

Govenment Budgeting essays There are many different budgeting systems used throughout the history of the United States. The development of the different budgeting systems came out of the growing needs for efficiency, managing rapid growing budgets, public assurance of budget spending, and the need to cut programs effectively to reduce spending. In the more current budgeting, a combination of the different types are incorporated and implemented to maximize efficiency and productivity. Line item budgeting is primarily to ensure that money is spent in accordance with its allocations and that it is properly spent and accounted for. Line items in a budget represent a broad type of expenditure. Because all agencies practice similar types of budgeting, they will all use the same object code for their line item or object of expenditure. I work for a school district that uses line item budgeting. For example, if I were to purchase non-instructional supplies, I would use the object 4300 to identify the type of expenditure. This type of budgeting is easy to understand it is still used today in many areas of public finance. It also offers political leaders an easier way of reducing items budgeted rather than cutting programs entirely. Unlike other budgeting systems that focus more on results to promote planning and management, line item budgeting limits what benefits can be offered. The 1930s began a change in the way public money was budgeted. Because the federal budget was rapidly growing, there became a need for a budgeting system change as well. The performance budget developed out of this rapid growth and is generally organized around programs and activities. Performance measures are used to show how work and cost relate. Similarly to line item budgeting, expenditures are broken down into different areas. However, performance budgets break down the areas into many divisions, whereas, the line item budget has only one division. Performance budgeting helps develop ...