Monday, March 02, 2009

Today's Tools: Understanding Obama's budget & what comes next

A budget isn't just a bunch of numbers beloved only by bureaucrats. A budget -- like the one Barack Obama just released -- not only allocates resources, but it also allocates priorities. A budget is about what we intend to do collectively as a people.

As Paul Krugman notes, "If he (Obama) can get anything like the plan he announced on Thursday through Congress, he will set America on a fundamentally new course."

Here are some tools to help understand what Obama proposed and what will happen next.

The White House web page on the budget, complete with fact sheets and other explanations

NPR breakdown of the budget

The New York Times overview. See the left column for details and related stories.

The New York Times on how Obama is sweeping away Reagan's ideas

Congress Matters tools for understanding the budget process.

No comments: