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31 Wm. & Mary L. Rev. 1021 (1989-1990)
Budget Process and Spending Growth

handle is hein.journals/wmlr31 and id is 1031 raw text is: BUDGET PROCESS AND SPENDING GROWTH W. MARK CRAIN* JAMES C. MILLER III** I. INTRODUCTION Wide-ranging criticism of the federal budget process has fueled interest in the way state governments organize their fiscal affairs. In contrast to the federal government and the budgetary problems it is encountering, the states are getting along comparatively well. For example, in fiscal year (FY) 1986 the states had an aggregate surplus of $60 billion on a spending base of $424 billion, while the federal government ran a deficit of $221 billion on a spending base of $990 billion.1 State governments also usually complete their budgets within a relatively short time frame and on time. This contrasts mightily with the record of the federal government. Con- gress has completed action on the budget by the beginning of the fiscal year in only two of the fourteen years since the passage of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974,2 even though the President has submitted his budget on average almost eight months earlier.3 Obviously, dozens of factors come into play to account for the different performances of the states and the federal government: * Professor of Economics and Research Associate, Center for Study of Public Choice, George Mason University. B.S. (Economics), University of Houston, 1972; Ph.D. (Econom- ics), Texas A & M University, 1976. ** Chairman, Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE), and John M. Olin Distinguished Fel- low at CSE Foundation and Center for Study of Public Choice at George Mason University. Director, Office of Management and Budget, 1985-88. Chairman of the Federal Trade Com- mission, 1981-85. B.B.A. (Economics), University of Georgia, 1964; Ph.D. (Economics), Uni- versity of Virginia, 1969. The views expressed in this paper are solely those of the authors, who assume responsibility for any errors. Particularly constructive suggestions were made by Tim Muris, Bob Tollison, Dick Wagner, Bruce Yandle and participants in the Public Choice Wednesday Seminar on Oct. 5, 1988. 1. See BUREAU OF THE CENSUS, U.S. DEP'T OF COMMERCE, STATE GOVERNMENT FINANCES IN 1986 V (1987); H. SHUMAN, POLITICS AND THE BUDGET 280 (1988). 2. Pub. L. No. 93-344, 88 Stat. 297 (1974) (codified as amended in scattered sections of 1, 2, 31 & 42 U.S.C.). 3. See H. SHUMAN, supra note 1, at 274. 1021

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