Balanced budget requirements and forward-looking planning are among the reasons Utah and other states are in great shape financially, according to one member of Congress. But while the federal government can learn a lot from state budget processes, shifting overnight to a balanced budget would be “catastrophic,” U.S. Rep. Blake Moore said.
“We’ve got to change our entire process to be able to get to that point,” Moore, a Republican representing Utah’s 1st Congressional District, said during a panel discussion at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute in Salt Lake City.
Moore said he has introduced a bill that would start the federal government on that path by, among other things, requiring the U.S. House and U.S. Senate to vote on all of the budget, not just discretionary spending.
The congressman and others discussed the differences between federal and state budgeting during an event co-sponsored by The Salt Lake Tribune and Gardner Institute as part of their quarterly “Storytelling Through Data” conversation series.
Balancing the budget has its tradeoffs, said Sophia DiCaro, the executive director of the Utah Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget.
Following the constitutional mandate not to spend more than what’s coming into state coffers means that managing for the future leads to sacrifices in the present, DiCaro said.
“That means we do without today in a lot of areas,” she said.
States in general are in a good position financially, said Shelby Kerns, executive director of the National Association of State Budget Officers.
Kerns, who worked in Idaho’s budget office for a decade, said many states have about 20% or more of their annual budget saved in rainy-day funds as contingency planning.
In contrast, she said, the federal government uses debt as its contingency plan — even in good times.
Federal officials need to find a way to strike a balance, said Phil Dean, the chief economist at the Gardner Institute.
Dean, who formerly served as head of the governor’s budget office, said there are a lot of opportunities to reduce federal spending, but officials “need the political will” to do so.
“It’s all stuff that makes people uncomfortable,” Moore said.
All four panelists said people can get involved by learning and understanding the basics, like the fact that most of the problems with the federal budget stem from Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare payments as the population ages and health care costs increase.
Voting and getting involved with associations or groups trying to influence policy is also important, Kerns said.
It’s especially important to vote for state and local candidates, DiCaro said, because “those are the people who are really going to make a difference in your everyday world.”
Megan Banta is The Salt Lake Tribune’s data enterprise reporter, a philanthropically supported position. The Tribune retains control over all editorial decisions.
