A-Level Coursework on "Public Budgeting"

A-Level Coursework 10 pages (2684 words) Sources: 5

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Public Budgeting

Over the last several years, the issue of public budgeting has been increasingly brought to the forefront for all levels of government. The main reason is because of the large budget deficits that are being realized by: local, state and federal governments from the stagnant economy. This is causing these entities to experience a shortfall in revenues. Evidence of this can be seen by looking at the debt levels for the federal government between 2000 and 2010 (which is illustrated in the below table).

National Debt Levels of the U.S. Government from 2000 to 2010

Total Amount of Debt

$5.674 trillion

$5.807 trillion

$6.228 trillion

$6.783 trillion

$7.379 trillion

2005

$8.507 trillion

2006

$9.008 trillion

2007

$9.008 trillion

2008

$10.025 trillion

2009

$11.910 trillion

2010

$13.562 trillion

2011

$15.355 trillion

("Historical Outstanding Debt," 2011) ("U.S. National Debt," 2012)

These figures are important, in showing how the rising debt levels are becoming a major challenge for all governments. To fully understand what is taking place requires looking at the federal, state, city and a local agency budget. During this process is when there will be a focus on: providing a description for each budget, identifying the similarities / differences, studying what are the major sources of revenues, how income levels are expected to change, the way that this fits the mission of each domain and how the process can be improved. The combination of these elements will provide us with a basic background of the challenges facing all levels of government. This is when we can understand the way the budgetary process works and how these problems can be addressed in the future.

A Basic Description of each Budget

The different budgets that we will be examining include: the U.S. government, the State of Florida, the City of Miami, the Miami Dade Police Department and portion the U.S. Department of Agriculture (which will be discussed later on). The way that this will be achieved is by carefully examining each budget. This will offer specific insights that will help in comparing the budgets from the different levels of government with each other.

The U.S. Government

The budget of the U.S. government is focused on addressing issues that are affecting the nation domestically or internationally. Some of the different agencies that are used to address these objectives included: the Department of Defense, Homeland Security, Health & Human Services, Education and Energy. At the same time, the government also has large endowment programs to include: Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid. These different areas are important, because they allow the federal government to address the needs of citizens and the states through these programs. In most cases, they will spend the money directly by providing specific services to everyone (such as: national defense). While in other situations, the federal government will offer any assistance through various grants and direct funding. ("Fiscal Year 2013 Budget," 2012) ("Fiscal Year 2013 Historical Tables," 2012)

The State of Florida

The state of Florida is receiving large amounts of assistance for a host of programs from the federal government. A few of the most notable include: education, Medicaid / Medicare, agriculture the state will take the money that is received from various forms of tax revenues and funding from the federal government to deliver different services. In some cases, this is provided with the state playing a direct role (such as: corrections or education). While at other times, the state will offer direct financial assistance to local communities in addressing these issues. ("Governors 2012 Budget," 2012)

The City of Miami

The City of Miami receives their funding through different tax revenues and fines. A few of the most notable include: sales taxes, property taxes, grants from the state / federal government and fines. These funds are used to provide specific services to the community. ("City of Miami Annual Budget," 2012)

The Miami Dade Police Department

The Miami Dade Police Department receives their funding from tax revenues that are collected by the city and grants that are provided from the state or federal governments. In this process, the department will list the costs of services that they are providing and how it is changing. This is designed to show administrators the underlying expenditures in providing these services to the community. In the future, this helps lawmakers to determine what programs are addressing the needs of the citizens. ("FY 2011-2012 Budget," 2011)

On each level of government, are similar processes that are used to deliver various services to the public. In some situations, a particular level will be directly involved in these objectives through different agencies. However, there are also times that funding will be provided to the state or local government. This is designed to ensure that the needs of a specific region are addressed on the local level by directly providing entities with the money. This is when administrators can use this to address the needs of citizens.

Identify the differences and similarities of each budget.

The differences in each budget are: in the areas of focus, the total amounts of money involved and how the money is disbursed. As far as the areas of focus are concerned, this is when there is an emphasis on addressing specific needs at a certain level. For example, the federal government wants to improve Homeland Security in various air / seaports and border crossings. While the states, are concerned about issues within their borders and how this is impacting them. Further down, is when various communities will deal with specific issues that are impacting their city. These elements are important, in showing how there is an emphasis on addressing these challenges by providing different services based on specific objectives.

The way that the process is similar, is all of the various levels of governments are working off of a system that is interconnected with each other. This means that if there are difficulties inside a higher level of government. There will be a decrease in the funding for specific programs. For example, suppose that the State of Florida is facing financial challenges. This will have an effect on funding levels for the Miami Dade Police Department. The same thing applies if there are issues on the federal level in relation to the state and the city. Moreover, all of the various governments have the same kind of accounting provisions in place. These elements are important, in showing how the budgetary process is similar for all of the different levels.

What accounts for the major sources of revenue for each?

The U.S. Government

The major sources of revenues for the federal government include: individual / corporate income taxes, social insurance / retirement receipts and excise taxes. The below table is highlighting the total amounts of revenues for the U.S. Government between 2007 and 2011

Revenues for the U.S. Government from 2007 to 2011

Year

Individual Income Tax

Corporate Income Tax

Social Insurance and Retirement Receipts

Excise Taxes

2007

$1.16 trillion

$370.24 billion

$869.60 billion

$65.06 billion

2008

$1.145 trillion

$304.46 billion

$900.15 billion

$1.34 trillion

2009

$915.30 billion

$138.29 billion

$890.91 billion

$62.43 billion

2010

$858.54 billion

$191.43 billion

$864.81 billion

$66.90 billion

2011

$1.09 trillion

$181.08 billion

$818.79 billion

$72.28 billion

("Fiscal Year 2013 Budget," 2012) ("Fiscal Year 2013 Historical Tables," 2012)

These figures are showing how the primary sources of revenues for the federal government have become volatile during the last several years.

The State of Florida

The State of Florida is receiving their funds from several different sources to include: general revenues (income / sales taxes), lottery receipts, the tobacco settlement and other areas (i.e. grants / funding from the federal government). The below table is illustrating the overall amounts of revenues for 2010 and 2011.

Revenues for the State of Florida from 2010 to 2011

Year

Revenues

Lottery Receipts

Tobacco Settlement

Other Areas

2010

$30.61 billion

$1.09 billion

$370.60 million

$23.16 billion

2011

$30.12 billion

$1.02 billion

$370.60 million

$21.82 billion

("Governors 2012 Budget," 2012)

These figures are showing how the State of Florida has been realizing declining revenues over the last two years.

The City of Miami

The various sources of revenues for the City of Miami include: property taxes, franchise fees, interest, fines, intergovernmental revenues, licenses / permits and charges for services. The below table is illustrating the income between 2010 and 2011.

Revenues for the City of Miami from 2010 to 2011

Year

Property Taxes

Franchise Fees

Interest

Fines

Intergovernmental Revenues

Licenses / Permits

Charges for Services

2010

$252.53 million

$105.70 million

$1.50 million

$5.0 million

$88.75 million

$30.79 million

$86.20 million

2011

$242.26 million

$96.20 million

$1.52 million

$14.13 million

$80.96 million

$36.17 million

$92.91 million

("City of Miami Annual Budget," 2012)

These numbers are illustrating how the City of Miami has been realizing declining revenues over the last two years.

The Miami Dade Police Department

The Miami Dade Police Department has a number revenue sources. The most notable include: contract services, the general funds, grants, surcharges and fees. The below table is illustrating… READ MORE

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