Shaumbaugh Auditorium
Wednesday, April 25th, 2012 6:30 PM
Policy Primer: The Budget Riddle
This week we tackle a topic that hovers over everything else we have discussed—budget and taxes. Our discussion, led by Peter Fisher (Emeritus Professor of Urban Planning and Research Director of the Iowa Policy Project), will look at patterns in American public finance (state and federal), including relevant historical perspective and international comparisons.
In addition to the readings listed below, Students are encouraged to spend some time with one of the many online budget calculators, including the New York Times Budget Project, or American Public Media’s Budget Hero. For a good summary of federal spending patterns, go to the National Priority Project’s Federal Budget Dashboard. For a good overview of basic terms and concepts see the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Policy Basics page (federal budget is the first item, scroll down for state budget and taxes)
Readings:
- Michael Ettlinger, Budgeting for Growth and Prosperity: A Long-term Plan to Balance the Budget, Grow the Economy, and Strengthen the Middle Class (Center for American Progress, May 2011)
- Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Strengthening State Fiscal Policies for a Stronger Economy (February 2012)
- Brookings Institution, What States Can, and Can’t, Teach the Federal Government about Budgets (March 2012)
- Andrew Cannon, Getting Public Value out of our Public Dollars: Do Iowa’s Spending Choices Represent Iowa’s Values? (Iowa Policy Project, 2010)
- Cato Institute, Do budget shortfalls mean states must raise taxes? (September 2011)
