How large? The federal government is projected to spend $5.7 trillion in 2021, according to the Congressional Budget Office. If you’re wondering where that money comes from and where it goes, here’s what you need to know about the federal budget and how it impacts you.
NOTE: Our government spent $1.1 Trillion than expected...
How the Federal Budget Process Works
If you think staying on top of your household budget is tedious, consider the process the federal government must go through each year. Actually, the process takes more than a year. The U.S. government doesn’t budget for the calendar year starting on Jan. 1 but rather a fiscal year starting on Oct. 1 and going through Sept. 30 of the following year. The process for creating the budget begins a year and a half before the fiscal year begins.
Step 1: Government agencies start compiling their spending proposals in the spring (1 1/2 years before the fiscal year begins) to submit to the White House Office of Management and Budget.
Step 2: Using the agencies’ request, the OMB and president create a budget request that typically is submitted to Congress by the first Monday in February.
Step 3: The House of Representatives and Senate budget committees draft budget resolutions. Then a House-Senate conference committee resolves the differences between the two resolutions to create one budget resolution that both the House and Senate are supposed to approve by April 15. READ MORE...
In 2021, the federal government collected $4.05 trillion in revenue.
In 2021, the federal government spent $6.82 trillion.
Deficit: ($2.77) trillion
SOURCE: Datalab
COVID PANDEMIC
The U.S. government spent at least $5.2 trillion to combat the covid-19 crisis. It stands as one of the most expensive, ambitious experiments in U.S. history. And it succeeded.
A final phase of that assistance could begin this week, when the Treasury Department starts a $110 billion program of child tax credit payments for millions of Americans. Those benefits are set to run through the end of the year.
But even that program will run out, assuming it is not renewed. And policymakers will be undertaking an equally uncertain experiment by letting most other covid-19 relief aid run its course. Businesses and households that were able to navigate the coronavirus pandemic with large levels of government aid will soon test their ability to forge ahead on their own.
Previous attempts to let pandemic-related benefits expire were met with last-minute extensions, as economic updates remained dismal and hardship remained prominent. But the White House appears ready to let the training wheels come off this year as positive indicators pile up. READ MORE...
The U.S. government spent at least $5.2 trillion to combat the covid-19 crisis. It stands as one of the most expensive, ambitious experiments in U.S. history. And it succeeded.
A final phase of that assistance could begin this week, when the Treasury Department starts a $110 billion program of child tax credit payments for millions of Americans. Those benefits are set to run through the end of the year.
But even that program will run out, assuming it is not renewed. And policymakers will be undertaking an equally uncertain experiment by letting most other covid-19 relief aid run its course. Businesses and households that were able to navigate the coronavirus pandemic with large levels of government aid will soon test their ability to forge ahead on their own.
Previous attempts to let pandemic-related benefits expire were met with last-minute extensions, as economic updates remained dismal and hardship remained prominent. But the White House appears ready to let the training wheels come off this year as positive indicators pile up. READ MORE...
