From history of the budget process to detail about the ongoing conflict in Washington, from charts explaining where every federal dollar goes to simple explanations of budget terminology, this book covers it all. A People’s Guide to the Federal Budget is for every American who wants to understand and participate in a process that affects all of us. It serves as a foundation for the novice reader, a reference tool for a more advanced audience, and is perfect for high school and college classroom use. Released to coincide with the fiscal year 2013 budget process and the 2012 presidential election, this guide includes up-to-the-minute numbers and explanation of President Obama’s 2013 budget request.

The federal budget impacts American policies both at home and abroad, and recent concern over the exploding budgetary deficit has experts calling our nation's policies "unsustainable" and "system-dooming." As the deficit continues to grow, will America be fully able to fund its priorities, such as an effective military and looking after its aging population? In this third edition of his classic book The Federal Budget, Allen Schick examines how surpluses projected during the final years of the Clinton presidency turned into oversized deficits under George W. Bush. In his detailed analysis of the politics and practices surrounding the federal budget, Schick addresses issues such as the collapse of the congressional budgetary process and the threat posed by the termination of discretionary spending caps. This edition updates and expands his assessment of the long-term budgetary outlook, and it concludes with a look at how the nation's deficit will affect America now and in the future. "A clear explanation of the federal budget... [Allen Schick] has captured the politics of federal budgeting from the original lofty goals to the stark realities of today."—Pete V. Domenici, U.S. Senate

The Rationale for Federal Involvement -- Program Scoring, Justification, and Other Issues -- Questions for Chapter 10 -- Discussion Items for Chapter 10 -- Appendix: Federal Credit and Insurance Program Summary -- 11. The Budget and the Economy: Each Affects the Other -- The Economy's Effect on the Budget -- The Budget's Effect on the Economy -- Standardized vs. Cyclical Budget -- Issues-Did the Stimulus Measures do their Job? -- The Business Cycle vs. the Political Cycle -- Conclusions -- Questions for Chapter 11 -- Discussion Item for Chapter 11 -- 12. The Budget and Government Performance: Will Making the Government more Efficient Save Lots of Money? -- "The Budget and Government Performance" Comprises several Discrete Issues -- Some Historical Background -- The Challenges Facing Congress and the Executive Branch -- The Bottom Line -- Question for Chapter 12 -- Discussion Items for Chapter 12 -- 13. Federalism and the Budget: Washington and the States: the 1 Trillion Puzzle -- Federal Assistance-some Historical Context -- Federal Assistance Today -- The Federal Budget's Impact outside Washington Extends beyond Intergovernmental Assistance -- Using Intergovernmental Assistance to Help Achieve Federal Goals -- Unfunded Mandates -- Preemption-What's that All About? -- The Bottom Line -- Questions for Chapter 13 -- Discussion Items for Chapter 13 -- 14. Controlling the Budget in a Partisan Environment -- What is the Problem with the Budget? -- The Short-term Budget Dilemma -- The Long-term Budget Dilemma -- Efforts to Balance the Budget-a Review -- The Budget Control Act of 2011 and the Breakdown of the Budget Process -- The Bottom Line -- Discussion Items for Chapter 14 -- Appendix: Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security: What are They? -- Notes -- Appendix 1 -- Appendix 2 -- Bibliography -- Index.

Presents a narrative analysis of the federal budget that reveals how funds were actually spent in 2011, evaluating the roles of such contributors as Jacob Lew, Douglas Elmendorf, and Pete Peterson.