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DRAFT: 10/22/2015

PUBP 741 – 002: Syllabus

U.S. Financial Policy, Processes and Procedures

School of Policy, Government and International Affairs – George Mason University

Spring 2016

Class Time: Thursday: 7:20pm – 10:00pm

Class Location: Arlington Campus, Founders Hall, Room 311

Instructor: Barry Clendenin

Home Phone: 703-437-5197

Cell Phone: 703-395-3373

E-Mail: BarryC2@Verizon.Net

tclenden@gmu.edu

Office Hours and Location: Room 656, Founders Hall, Thursday (5pm-7pm) and by appointment.

Helen McManus: Librarian for Public Policy and Public & International Affairs

Email: hmcmanus@gmu.edu

Course Objectives

This course will consider spending and taxing policies, processes and procedures at the Federal, State and

local governments. Debates over the size of the federal budget, annual deficits and the long-term national

debt regularly receive steady attention from the Congress, the Administration, analysts in think tanks1 and

in press reports. Annual federal deficits have declined from $1.086 trillion in FY 2012 to $439 billion in

FY 2015; the national debt has continued to increase.2 The debates leading to a Federal Government

1 Michael Greenstone, et al., 15 Ways to Rethink the Federal Budget, The Hamilton Project, (Washington, D.C.:

Brookings Institution, February 2013). http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Research/Files/Papers/2013/02/thp%20budget%20papers/THP_15WaysRethinkFedDeficit_F2.pdf ; http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-27/15-budget-ideas-that-are-better-than-sequester-plan.html 2 Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, “FY 2015 Deficit Falls to $439 Billion, but Debt Continues to Rise,”

Bottom Line blog, October 18, 2015. http://crfb.org/document/fy-2015-deficit-falls-435-billion-debt-continues-rise Joint Statement of Treasury Secretary and OMB Director, October 15, 2015. http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0213.aspx Congressional Budget Office, “Monthly Budget Review for September 2015,” October 7, 2015. https://www.cbo.gov/publication/50878?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzEmail&utm_content=812526&utm_campaign=Hourly_2015-10-07_18%3a00

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shutdown between October 1 and October 17, 2013, and the accompanying disagreement over raising the

national debt ceiling brought continuing deficit and debt differences back into immediate public attention.

Congressional action on the Bipartisan Budget Act of 20133 and the eventual enactment of FY 2014

appropriations and extension of the debt ceiling serve as one basis for class discussions and analyses of

long-term Federal budget challenges. A similar series of events may occur during the fall of 2015.

As the spring semester class begins to meet in January 2016, multiple themes will be candidates for

consideration, including (1) implementation of the final FY 2016 Appropriations awaiting enactment

before the December 11, 2015 expiration of the First Continuing Resolution for FY 2016 (2) the expected

February 2016 release of the President’s proposed FY 2017 Budget (3) resolution of the extension of the

debt ceiling in November 2015,4 and (4) the impending insolvency of the Social Security Disability

Insurance trust fund during FY 2017.5 Additional fiscal cliffs affecting tax, health and transportation

policies will occur throughout CY 2016.6

Similar financial discussions within the States have occurred locally in Virginia and Maryland and in

cities such as Detroit, Michigan; Chicago Illinois; Stockton, California; and, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Despite general recognition about potential consequences that might result from a growing national debt

and annual deficits, David Wessel writing in Red Ink: Inside the High Stakes Politics of the Federal

Budget observes that “the public remains strikingly misinformed about the budget.”7 In a broader

perspective, Eugene Steuerle reminds us that “those who focus solely on surging deficits miss the forest

for the trees. Deficits are but a symptom of a much broader disease: the effort by both political parties to

3 http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-113hjres59enr/pdf/BILLS-113hjres59enr.pdf

4 Steve Holland, “Obama signs increase in U.S. Debt ceiling,” Reuters, February 15,

2014.http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/16/us-usa-debt-obama-idUSBREA1E11D20140216 ; U.S. Department of the Treasury, “Debt Limit.” http://www.treasury.gov/initiatives/Pages/debtlimit.aspx ; Fix the Debt, “Impending ‘Fiscal Speed Bumps’ 2015-2016,” December 23, 2014. http://www.fixthedebt.org/blog/the-budget-battles-ahead_1#.VJnxNQDA ; Congressional Budget Office, “Federal Debt and the Statutory Limit, October 2015,” October 14, 2015. https://www.cbo.gov/publication/50888?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzEmail&utm_content=812526&utm_campaign=Hourly_%272015-10-14_15%3a00%3a00%27 ; Daniel Watson, “There is Only One Solution to the Debt Limit,” Treasury Notes, October 16, 2015. http://www.treasury.gov/connect/blog/Pages/one-solution-debt-limit.aspx 5 Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, “Happy Fiscal New Year! 15 Numbers from FY 2015,” September

20, 2015. http://crfb.org/document/happy-fiscal-new-year-15-numbers-fy-2015 6 Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, “Fiscal Speed Bumps: Challenges, Risks, and Opportunities,” Bottom

Line blog, January 8, 2015. http://crfb.org/document/fiscal-speed-bumps-challenges-risks-and-opportunities; Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, The Gathering Storm: Fiscal Clouds Amass This Fall,” Bottom Line blog, August 20, 2015. http://crfb.org/sites/default/files/the_gathering_storm_-_fiscal_clouds_amass_this_fall.pdf 7 David Wessel, Red Ink: Inside the High Stakes of the Federal Budget (New York: Crown Business, 2012), p.70.

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control the future. In trying to impose their agendas on the future, they deprive today’s generation and

those to come of the right to determine their own futures.”8

We will analyze the formal and informal processes for budget development, the multiple ways decisions

might be made about funding levels and other policy changes, and we will assess the role of budget

execution, including financial plans (apportionments), financial statements, audits, the relationship of

budget policy to the legislative process, the role of the Government Accountability Office and inspectors

general. We will look across the history of regulations, performance measurements and other such

management tools and critically examine how or whether such tools have actually been used in budget

decision-making and how analysts can determine their value for assessing financial options and achieving

decisions.

Class members will gain experience in devising and applying the questions that analysts might ask of

those proposing a budget, including recognizing the continued use of budget gimmicks9 by both the

Executive and Legislative branches at all levels of government, and follow the management and oversight

of a budget once enacted. Likewise, the class will assess the views of those who believe there is no

current deficit or long-term debt issues confronting the U.S. Government.10

Budgets often have a separate language of terms and concepts and sometimes the terms differ as well

when comparing budget development by legislatures and the executive branch.11

We will gain an

improved understanding of these terms, underscore the value of knowing how to apply budget and

financing rules, including scoring procedures and study how these terms and their application are used

daily by management and budget analysts at all levels of government. Applying new information and

skills will be enhanced especially through the drafting of brief in-class memoranda.

In addition to budget formulation and budget execution, we will assess taxing policies that affect funding

decisions. As part of investigating tax policies, we will take a look, for example, at the use of tax

8 Eugene Steuerle, Dead Men Ruing: How to Restore Fiscal Freedom and Rescue our Future (New York: The Century

Foundation Press, 2014). 9 Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, “Everything You Need to Know about Budget Gimmicks, in 8

Charts,” Bottom Line blog, February 11, 2014. http://crfb.org/blogs/everything-you-need-know-about-budget-gimmicks-8-charts ; CRFB, “On Highways and VA, Congress Continues Piling Up Debt,” Bottom Line blog, August 1, 2014. http://crfb.org/document/highways-and-va-congress-continues-piling-debt; CRFB,“Budget Gimmicks in the Cromnibus Bill,” Bottom Line blog, December 10, 2014. http://crfb.org/blogs/budget-gimmicks-cromnibus-bill 10

Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, “Actually, Paul, the Debt is Still a Problem,” Bottom Line blog, July 25, 2014. http://crfb.org/blogs/actually-paul-debt-still-problem; Howard Gleckman, “Gale and DeLong Debate: Is the Budget Deficit Even a Problem?” TPC TaxVox, January 13, 2015. http://taxvox.taxpolicycenter.org/2015/01/13/gale-delong-debate-budget-deficit-even-problem/?utm_source=iContact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Deduction&utm_content=DD+1%2F14%2F15 11 Congressional Budget Office, A Guide to Style and Usage, December 19, 2013.

http://www.cbo.gov/publication/44975?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzEmail&utm_content=8125

26&utm_campaign=0

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expenditures, sometimes referred to as “spending in disguise.”12

We will use case studies to bring greater

clarity to all of our class discussions. For example, we will look at the special case of Medicaid, a $492

billion (FY 2014 estimate) Federal/State financed health entitlement first enacted in 1965, which apart

from education, often puts the greatest financial pressure annually on all State governments. Medicaid

plays a central role in the health reform act’s goal of expanding coverage to uninsured citizens starting in

January 2014.13

Federal spending for Medicaid jumped by nearly 16 percent ($49 billion) in FY 2015. 14

Along with gaining an overall understanding of budget and financial management processes, concepts and

applications, we will evaluate the competing views of whether policy drives the budget or whether budget

and other financial considerations ultimately drive policy.

Books and Materials

** David Wessel, Red Ink: Inside the High Stakes Politics of the Federal Budget (New York: Crown

Business, 2012) {Required}

** Robert D. Lee, et al, Public Budgeting Systems. Ninth Edition (Burlington, Massachusetts: Jones and

Bartlett Publishers, 2013) {Recommended}

**Allen Schick, The Federal Budget: Politics, Policy, Process (Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution

Press, 2007) {Required} {Also available as an E-Book in the GMU Arlington Library}

**C. Eugene Steuerle, Dead Men Ruling: How to Restore Fiscal Freedom and Rescue our Future (New

York: The Century Press Foundation, 2014) {Required}

Additional sources cited in the syllabus footnotes are included as background information or for

potential use in the preparation of the two class policy memoranda assignments described late in

the Class Syllabus.

Learning Outcomes

An increased understanding of budget and financial systems, terms and their application in

analyses and policy development.

An expanded understanding of tax policy, with special attention to tax expenditures.

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Donald Marron, “Spending in Disguise, National Affairs, Summer 2011. http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/UploadedPDF/1001542-Spending-In-Disguise-Marron.pdf 13

Kaiser Family Foundation, Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, “The Medicaid Program at a Glance,” March 2013. http://www.kff.org/medicaid/upload/7235-06.pdf; HHS/CMS, National Health Expenditure Data. http://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/NationalHealthExpendData/NationalHealthAccountsProjected.html 14

CBO, Monthly Budget Review for September 2015. October 7, 2015. https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/114th-congress-2015-2016/reports/50878-MBR.pdf

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An expanded exposure to and understanding of the federal budget’s history, key players, related

political process and major components, with special attention to entitlements policies and

financing.

A greater appreciation of budget rhetoric, budget estimates and budget presentations.

An opportunity to improve critical appraisal skills for analyzing public policy questions.

An opportunity to strengthen written and oral presentations and improve the clarity and

organization of policy analyses.

A sharpened ability to respond effectively and efficiently to the time and information constraints

regularly encountered in policy work.

Grading

Class Participation and seven short (30 minute) in-class one page analytic memoranda 25%

Policy Memorandum #1 and Presentation {Two-person teams} 20%

Policy Memorandum #2 and Presentation {Individual or Two-person teams} 25%

Final Exam 30%

Requirements

1. Class Participation and in-class memoranda15

: The class will emphasize full and collegial

participation by all of its members. Students should anticipate receiving seven in-class short

written assignments in addition to preparing two policy/decision memoranda. The in-class

memoranda will be assigned in the classes as noted on the Syllabus and will be based primarily

on the class readings or discussions of the readings or contemporary events on budget or broader

financial policies and procedures. We will use these exercises to underscore the value of

developing the skills for quick and substantive responses to unexpected analytic requests,

including the ability to look ahead and around corners.

As part of each class, students will be expected to report briefly from time to time on

current class-related topics from contemporary sources, including, but not limited to, the New

York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, National Journal, The Hill, the National

Governors Association http://www.nga.org/cms/home.html , the National Association of State

Budget Officers http://thenew.nasbo.org/ ,the National Conference of State Legislatures

http://www.ncsl.org/, Fairfax County, Virginia http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/ ;Arlington

County, Virginia http://www.arlingtonva.us/, and advance questions for class consideration.

2. Two Policy Memoranda and Presentations: For the two policy memoranda, the instructor will be

looking for papers written in an active voice with a beginning, middle and end, and with the

recommendations based on research, analysis and facts. I have always found The Elements of

Style, 3rd Edition and subsequent editions (New York: McMillan Publishing Co., 1979) by

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Vickie Elmer, “The Complete Guide to Writing Office Memos,” Government Executive, December 6, 2013. http://www.govexec.com/excellence/promising-practices/2013/12/complete-guide-writing-office-memos/75062/?oref=govexec_today_nl

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William Strunk and E.B. White to be a valuable and constant companion when putting pen to

paper; William Zinsser’s On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition (New York: HarperCollins,

2006) is a second useful guide.16

Policy Memorandum #1 – Groups of two class members.

Policy Memorandum #2 – Individual presentations or in Groups of two class members.

The Two Policy Memoranda should total 3 pages, be double-spaced and include footnotes and a

bibliography. Please use The Chicago Manual of Style17

format for footnotes and prepare the memoranda

in at least 12 point font on standard 8.5 x 11 inch paper. From your assigned readings or from your

readings of sources outside the class, please select two topics that remain unresolved issues (there are

many such issues surrounding U.S. financial policies).

Class members will prepare two memoranda for an Executive Branch, Legislative Branch, State

or local government decision maker that include (1) a short statement and explanation of the

issue, including why the decision needs to made; (2) an assessment of the pros and cons,

including the views of stakeholders on both sides of the issue; and (3) a recommendation based

on the merits.

Please approach the memoranda as staff analysts for a policy official who because of time

constraints will have to rely on your judgment and recommendation(s).

Depending on the topic selected, sometimes a chart or graph can make the case more clearly than

words. The memoranda should be a quality product and give the policy official a sense of a firm

handshake and a steady voice. The proposed policy memoranda topics and a brief outline of your

approach will be due at Class Number 4 (#1) on February 11th and at Class Number 9 (#2) on

March 17th.

The topic for Policy Memorandum #1 should cover a budget (funding) issue and is due at the

beginning of Class Number 10 on March 24th; Policy Memorandum #2 should address a revenue

(taxing or other revenue sources) issue and is due at the beginning of Class Number 13 on April

14th. Please bring one copy of each memorandum to the Class and send the instructor an

electronic version.

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http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=strunk+white+elements&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=4308710477&ref=pd_sl_7p023cvw8_b ; http://www.amazon.com/Writing-Well-30th-Anniversary-Nonfiction/dp/0060891548/ref=pd_sim_b_1 See also Greg Mankiw’s blog on “How to Write Well,” October 7, 2006. http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2006/10/how-to-write-well.html 17

The Chicago Manual of Style Online: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html

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Students will present/discuss their policy memoranda in Classes 10 or 11 on March 24th

or

March 31st [Policy Memorandum #1] and in Classes 13 or 14 on April 14th

and April 21st

[Policy Memorandum #2]. Please prepare presentations that cover up to 5 minutes and allow an

additional 2 minutes for follow up questions and discussion.

3. Final Exam: The final exam will be an open-book take-home exam, distributed

electronically on the morning of April 30th

. The final exam will be due at 11:59pm on May

3rd

.

Summary of Key Dates

February 11th

: Policy Memorandum #1 Subject, Outline and Potential Sources due in class.

March 17th

: Policy Memorandum #2 Subject, Outline and Potential Sources due in class.

March 24th

: Policy Memorandum #1 due in class.

April 14th

: Policy Memorandum #2 due in class.

April 30th

– May 3rd

: Final Exam.

Class Schedule and Assignments {October 22, 2015}

1. January 21

a. Topic: Introduction and Course Overview: Meet with Class Members, Review Class

Organization, Expectations and Goals; discuss assignments, including additional

bibliographic aids and assistance from the Arlington Campus Library.

InfoGuide for the Class: http://infoguides.gmu.edu/PUBP741{Helen McManus, Arlington

Campus Library}

b. General Observation: Class discussions will include occasional comments on the workplace

environment for finance/budget analysts, the imperfections and challenges in the policy

development process and observations on addressing ethical dilemmas.

c. Glossary for the Class: Allen Schick, The Federal Budget: Politics, Policy, Process

(Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution, 2007), “Glossary,” pp. 323- 333. {Arlington

Library E-Book}

d. General References for the Class throughout the 2016 Spring Semester:

Robert Behn, “The Craft of Memo Writing,” August 18, 2012.

http://www.hks.harvard.edu/thebehnreport/All%20Issues/Behn,%20Craft%20of%20Memo%

20Writing%202012.pdf

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Congressional Budget Office, A Guide to Style and Usage, December 19, 2013.

http://www.cbo.gov/publication/44975?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzEmai

l&utm_content=812526&utm_campaign=0

Department of the Treasury, Treasury Direct. The Debt to the Penny and Who Holds It.

https://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/pd_debttothepenny.htm

Treasury Green Book. [Administration Revenue Proposals].

http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/tax-policy/Documents/General-Explanations-

FY2015.pdf

Federal Budget. https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Overview

e. Readings:

i. Lee, Public Budgeting Systems, Chapter 1, “Introduction,” pp. 1-24. [Recommended

Reading]

ii. David Wessel, Red Ink, Chapter 1, “Spending $400 Million an Hour,” pp. 13-32.

iii. Charles Lane, “‘Dead Men Ruling’ argues for long-term balance between spending,

revenue,” Washington Post, July 30, 2014.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/charles-lane-c-eugene-steuerles-book-argues-

for-breaking-americas-fiscal-chains/2014/07/30/17dfaf40-1807-11e4-85b6-

c1451e622637_story.html ; and “A country trapped in 1965’s ambitions,” Washington

Post, January 14, 2015. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/charles-lane-a-

country-trapped-in-1965s-ambitions/2015/01/14/dfd86eb8-9c11-11e4-a7ee-

526210d665b4_story.html?hpid=z6

iv. Schick, The Federal Budget, Chapter 1, “Conflict and Resolution in Federal Budgeting,”

pp. 1-7. {Arlington Library E-Book ; CRFB, “Hiatt: There Hasn't Been a Deficit

Victory,” October 6, 2014. http://crfb.org/blogs/hiatt-there-hasnt-been-deficit-victory ;

Michael Grunwald, “5 myths about the budget: Why most of the big things we argue

about are wrong,” POLITICO, October 21, 2015.

http://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2015/10/myths-about-the-federal-budget-000291

2. January 28

a. Topic: Budget and Accounting Terms and Concepts and Everyday Use

“In the great fiscal scheme of things, October 22, 1981 seems like only yesterday. That’s the day the

US public debt crossed the $1 trillion mark for the first time. It had taken the nation 74,984 days to get

there (205 years). What prompts this reflection is that just a few days ago the national debt breached

the $18 trillion mark; and the last trillion was added in hardly 365 days.” David Stockman, December

5, 2014.

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b. Readings:

i. Budget of the U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2016, Analytical Perspectives, “Budget

Concepts,” pp. 87-107. [FY 2017 President’s Budget scheduled for February 2016

release.]

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2015/assets/spec.pdf

ii. Steuerle, Dead Men Ruling, Chapter 1, “Introduction: The Challenge at Hand,” pp. 1-

18; Chapter 2, “At a Fiscal Turning Point,” pp. 19-32; David Stockman, “Only

Yesterday—-How The Federal Debt Went From $1 Trillion To $18 Trillion in 33

Years,” Contra Corner Daily Digest, December 5, 2014.

http://davidstockmanscontracorner.com/only-yesterday-how-the-federal-debt-went-

from-1-trillion-to-18-trillion-in-33-

years/?utm_source=wysija&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Mailing+List+Mi

d+Day+Thursday

iii. Lee, Public Budgeting Systems, Chapter 2, “The Public Sector in Perspective,” pp.

25-43; Chapter 12, “Financial Management: Accounting, Auditing and Reporting,”

pp. 397-406.[Recommended Reading]

iv. Schick, The Federal Budget, Chapter 2, “The Evolution of Federal Budgeting” pp. 8-

38. {Arlington Library E-Book}.

v. Robert Samuelson, “Economic Magicians Wanted,” Washington Post, October 4,

2015. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/economic-magicians-

wanted/2015/10/04/78a08700-691e-11e5-9ef3-

fde182507eac_story.html?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_opinions

c. Papers: In-Class short turn-around analysis memorandum #1 {30 minutes}

3. February 4

Topic: Introduction to the Federal Budget

“Taxes, spending, and deficits thus appear to be back to “normal.” If anything, fiscal policy in 2014 was slightly

tighter than the average of the past four decades….But what has been the result of that “normal” policy? From 1975

to today, the federal debt swelled from less than 25 percent of GDP to more than 70 percent. I don’t think many

people would view that as normal. Or maybe it is normal, but not in a good way… As recent years demonstrate, we

don’t want a normal budget every year. When the economy is weak, it makes sense for taxes to fall and spending

and deficits to rise. When the economy is strong, deficits should come down, perhaps even disappear, through a mix

of higher revenues and lower spending.”

Donald Marron, “A ‘Normal’ Budget Isn’t Really Normal.” http://dmarron.com/2014/10/20/a-normal-budget-isnt-

really-

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normal/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DonaldMarron+%28Donald+M

arron%27s+Blog%29

a. Readings:

i. Introduction to the Federal Budget Process (Center on Budget Policy and Priorities,

January 3, 2011); Keith Hennessey, “Introduction to the Federal Budget

Process,”KeithHennessey.com, January 16, 2011; Congressional Budget Office,

“Overview of the Federal Budget,” December 4, 2013.

http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=155 ;

http://keithhennessey.com/2011/01/16/memo-introduction-to-the-federal-budget-

process/;

http://www.cbo.gov/publication/44923?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBl

itzEmail&utm_content=812526&utm_campaign=0

ii. “Monthly Budget Review for September 2015,” October 7, 2015.

https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/114th-congress-2015-2016/reports/50878-

MBR.pdf; Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service, “Monthly

Treasury Statement: August 2015,”September 11, 2015.

http://www.fiscal.treasury.gov/fsreports/rpt/mthTreasStmt/mthTreasStmt_home.htm

iii. Steuerle, Dead Men Ruling, Chapter 3, “From Whence It Came,” pp. 33-46; Chapter

4, “Postwar Fiscal Policy: The Gradual Demise of Fiscal Democracy,” pp.47-69.

iv. Schick, The Federal Budget, Chapter 3, “The Budget’s Shifting Boundaries,” pp. 39-

51 and Chapter 4, “The Political Rules and Arithmetic of Budgeting,” pp. 52-83.

{Arlington Library E-Book}

v. David Wessel, Red Ink, Chapter 2, “How We Got Here,” pp. 33-68; Douglas

Elmendorf, “A fairer approach to fiscal reform,” Washington Post, October 11,

2015.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-fairer-approach-to-fiscal-

reform/2015/10/11/a8ec2268-6e08-11e5-aa5b-

f78a98956699_story.html?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_headlines

b. Papers: In-Class short turn-around analysis memorandum #2 {30 minutes}

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4. February 11

a. Topic: The Federal Budget Process: How It Works and Does Not Work18

Guest Speaker:

“In 2013, the major entitlement programs - Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and other health care

consumed 49 percent of all federal spending. These programs, and interest on the debt, are on track to

consume an even greater share of spending in future years, while the portion of federal spending

dedicated to other national priorities will decline.” The Heritage Foundation, “Where Does All the

Money Go?” 2015. http://www.heritage.org/federalbudget/where-did-your-tax-dollar-

go?utm_campaign=hutchins+center&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=1516

2707&_hsenc=p2anqtz-_m_padcqaifpmbgjpwpemwwqifopczq-ol0jptgbzbi1q76mqyro-

imwtmqpy2nptjwkqlkxr8u7mt_ngzy1zexzrzla&_hsmi=15162707

b. Readings:

i. Lee, Public Budgeting Systems, Chapter 4, “Budget Cycles,” pp. 117-131; Chapter 5,

“Budgeting for Revenues: Income Taxes, Payroll Taxes, and Property Taxes,” pp.

133-164.[Recommended Reading]

ii. David Wessel, Red Ink, Chapter 3, “Where the Money Goes,” pp. 69-102.

iii. Steuerle, Dead Men Ruling, Chapter 5, “From Controlling the Present to Controlling

the Future,” pp. 70-80; Chapter 6, “The Four Deadly Economic Consequences,” pp.

81-103; Robert Samuelson, “The Flight from Reality,” Washington Post, October 18,

2015. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-flight-from-

reality/2015/10/18/3dea14ba-742b-11e5-9cbb-

790369643cf9_story.html?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_headlines

iv. Chris Cox and Bill Archer, “Why $16 Trillion Only Hints at the True US Debt,” Wall

Street Journal, November 26, 2012.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323353204578127374039087636.ht

ml; Kevin Kosar, “So... this is Nixon’s fault?” POLITICO, October 21, 2015.

http://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2015/10/richard-nixon-congressional-budget-

control-act-history-000282

v. Schick, The Federal Budget, Chapter 5, “The President’s Budget,” pp. 84-117;

Chapter 6, “The Congressional Budget Process,” pp. 118-161. {Arlington Library

E-Book}; CRFB, “The President's Budget in 8 Charts (FY2016 Edition),” Bottom

Line blog, February 12, 2015. http://crfb.org/blogs/presidents-budget-8-charts-

fy2016-edition

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Jessica Tollestrup, Continuing Resolutions: Overview of Components and Recent Practices, Congressional Research Service, July 16, 2015. https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42647.pdf

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c. Papers:

i. In-Class short turn-around analysis memorandum #3 {30 minutes}

ii. Policy Memorandum #1 [budget/funding issue] subject, outline and sources due

today – Class 4.

5. February 18

a. Topic: Health Reform and Fiscal Challenges: Health Policy is Budget Policy

Guest Speaker:

Robert Reischauer, former CBO Director: “From the mid-1930s to the 1970s, the government made a set

of commitments that led to expectations on the part of the American people about what their government

owes them…And they’re totally unprepared to go back to a different world.” {David Wessel, Red Ink,

p.41}

“In coming decades, the aging of the population, rising health care costs, and the expansion of federal

subsidies for health insurance will put increasing pressure on the federal budget. At the same time, by 2020,

if current laws generally remained in place, federal spending apart from that for Social Security and major

health care programs would drop to its smallest percentage of total output in more than 70 years, and

federal revenues would be a larger percentage of output than they have been, on average, during the past 40

years. Still, the rising cost of Social Security and the major health care programs would lead to widening

deficits, CBO projects.” CBO, Choices for Deficit Reduction: An Update, December 20, 2013.

“The source of the recent slowdown in health spending growth remains unclear. We used new and unique

data on privately insured people to estimate the effect of the economic slowdown that began in December

2007 on the rate of growth in health spending. By exploiting regional variations in the severity of the

slowdown, we determined that the economic slowdown explained approximately 70 percent of the

slowdown in health spending growth for the people in our sample. This suggests that the recent decline is

not primarily the result of structural changes in the health sector or of components of the Affordable Care

Act, and that—absent other changes in the health care system—an economic recovery will result in

increased health spending.” David Dranove, et al. “Health Spending Slowdown Is Mostly Due To

Economic Factors, Not Structural Change In The Health Care Sector,” Health Affairs, August 2014.

http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/33/8/1399.abstract#xref-corresp-1-1

b. Readings:

i. Robert Samuelson, “Let’s Get Rid of (the term) Entitlements,” Washington Post,

October 20, 2013. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/robert-j-samuelson-lets-

get-rid-of-the-term-entitlements/2013/10/20/e3bd464c-3809-11e3-8a0e-

4e2cf80831fc_story.html?hpid=z ; Nicholas Bagley, “How Secure is Health

Reform?” The Incidental Economist, October 12, 2015.

http://theincidentaleconomist.com/wordpress/how-secure-is-health-reform/

13

ii. CRFB, “Comparing Medicare and Social Security Benefits and Taxes,” Bottom Line

blog, November 6, 2012. http://crfb.org/blogs/comparing-medicare-and-social-

security-benefits-and-taxes ; Congressional Budget Office (CBO), “Growth in Means

–Tested Programs and Tax Credits for Low-Income Households,” February 11, 2013.

http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43934?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBl

itzEmail&utm_content=812526&utm_campaign=0

iii. “Medicaid 101: What You Need to Know,” Alliance for Health Reform,” March 1,

2013. http://www.allhealth.org/briefing_detail.asp?bi=274

iv. Charles Blahous, “A Guide to the 2014 Medicare Trustees Report,” E21, August 6,

2014. http://economics21.org/commentary/guide-2014-medicare-trustees-report

v. Mike Shedlock, “$1 Trillion In Federal Overpayments—-Fraud In Medicare,

Medicaid, EITC, Tax Refunds, Etc.” David Stockman’s Contra Corner, October 4,

2015. http://davidstockmanscontracorner.com/1-trillion-in-federal-overpayments-

fraud-in-medicare-medicaid-eitc-tax-refunds-etc-total-1-trillion-since-2003/

c. Papers: In-Class short turn-around analysis memorandum #4 {30 minutes}

6. February 25

a. Topic: Revenue Sources and the Financing of Government Activities19

“Among our problems is a failure of economic language. We lack the words and concepts to describe

observable reality… Whatever the cause, we are in unfamiliar territory. Some years ago, I coined the

clunky phrase “affluent deprivation” to describe our condition. By any historical measure, we are — and

will remain — a rich society. Hence, the affluence. But we may feel poorer, “deprived,” because the

economy no longer satisfies broad private and public wants, including an expectation of economic stability.

Getting the right words to match reality is hard. Secular stagnation is a warning. In the 1930s, it seemed a

plausible theory backed by ample evidence. After World War II, it was destroyed by events: a population

explosion (the “baby boom”), a new frontier (suburbia), and new technologies (television, jet travel,

computers). There was no stagnation. Just the opposite.”{Robert Samuelson, “Times have changed, and our

economic vocabulary can’t keep up,” Washington Post, December 1, 2013.}20

19

Shai Akabas, Brian Collins, Steve Bell, “Debt Limit Analysis,” October 14, 2015. http://bipartisanpolicy.org/library/debt-limit/?_cldee=YmFycnljMkB2ZXJpem9uLm5ldA%3d%3d&utm_source=ClickDimensions&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Project%20Update%20%7C%20Economic%20Policy 20

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/robert-j-samuelson-times-have-changed-and-our-economic-vocabulary-cant-keep-up/2013/12/01/e0815260-5916-11e3-8304-caf30787c0a9_story.html

14

b. Readings:

i. Lee, Public Budgeting Systems, Chapter 6, “Budgeting for Revenues: Transaction-

Based Revenue Sources,” pp. 165-182.[Recommended Reading]

ii. David Wessel, Red Ink, Chapter 4, “Where the Money Comes From,” pp. 103-128.

iii. Charles Blahous, “Why we have Federal Deficits,” E21, November 14, 2013.

http://www.economics21.org/commentary/title ; “Distinguishing Policy from Politics

in the Cadillac Plan Tax,” E21, October 5, 2015.

http://www.economics21.org/commentary/distinguishing-policy-politics-cadillac-

plan-tax

iv. “State and Local Tax Policy: What are the Sources of Revenue for State

Governments?” Tax Policy Center. http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-

book/state-local/revenues/state_revenue.cfm ; “What are the Sources of Revenue for

Local Governments?” Tax Policy Center. http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-

book/state-local/revenues/local_revenue.cfm; “How do State and Local Income

Taxes Work?” Tax Policy Center. http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-

book/state-local/specific/income.cfm

v. Congressional Budget Office, “Options for Reducing the Deficit: Revenues,”

December 11, 2013.

http://www.cbo.gov/publication/44953?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBl

itzEmail&utm_content=812526&utm_campaign=0

c. Papers: In-Class short turn-around analysis memorandum #5 {30 minutes}

7. March 3

a. Topic: Tax Policy, Tax Reform and Tax Expenditures

“There is no prescribed legislative path for authorizations. Some originate in the House, others in the

Senate. Many are considered by only one committee ion each chamber; some are jointly or sequentially

referred to two or more committees.” Allen Schick, The Federal Budget, p. 200.

“To a great extent, power in Washington derives from the size of the budget over which one presides or the

legislation that one can influence.” Eugene Steuerle, Dead Men Ruling, p. 45.

“Little of the partisan sniping has anything to do with the short-term deficit. The numbers explain why. The

deficit peaked at $1.4 trillion in 2009—a massive 9.8% of GDP. By the fiscal year that ended in September,

the gap had narrowed to 2.8% of GDP, not far above the 2.5% average from 1980 to 2008. As the deficit

has dropped, so has its political potency. In early 2013 a quarter of Americans thought the deficit was the

country’s most pressing problem. Now, barely a tenth do.

The repercussions have been perverse. In 2011 Congress and Mr. Obama agreed to cap federal

discretionary spending (which must be authorised each year by Congress) when the economy was least able

to withstand such austerity. The real threat to America’s finances is the long-term cost of entitlements such

as Social Security and Medicare (pensions and health care for the old), which went largely unaddressed.

15

The deficit has now all but dropped off the political agenda.” “Deficit? What deficit?” The Economist,

December 6, 2014. http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21635482-republicans-and-democrats-

are-quarrelling-about-budget-again-not-about

“The inversion debate offers a reminder of why tax reform could be beneficial. Whether progress is made

on these issues in 2015 is an open question. But despite long odds, many political leaders seem motivated

to pursue it in the coming year. If they succeed, the events of 2014 may look much more important than

they appear today. William Gale, Tax Vox, December 22, 2014.

- See more at: http://taxvox.taxpolicycenter.org/2014/12/22/tax-policy-2014-two-developments-may-set-

table-

future/?utm_source=iContact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Deduction&utm_content=D

aily+Deduction+-+12%2F29#sthash.VYfQrXKt.dpuf

b. Readings:

i. Schick, The Federal Budget, Chapter 7, “Revenue Legislation,” pp. 162-190;

Chapter 8, “Authorizing Legislation,” pp. 191-213. {Arlington Library E-

Book}

ii. Donald Marron, “Spending in Disguise,” National Affairs, Summer 2011.

http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/UploadedPDF/1001542-Spending-In-Disguise-

Marron.pdf ;

iii. CBO, “The Distribution of Major Tax Expenditures in the Individual Income Tax

System,” May 29, 2013.

http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43768?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=Fee

dBlitzEmail&utm_content=812526&utm_campaign=0

iv. Brian Faler, “Meet the Tax Extenders: How an oddball collection of temporary tax

breaks became an unkillable $85 billion ritual,” POLITICO, October 21, 2015.

http://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2015/10/congress-85-billion-extenders-tax-

breaks-000283

v. Steuerle, Dead Men Ruling, Chapter 7, “The Three Deadly Political

Consequences,” pp. 104-116; Chapter 8, “The Counter-Revolution,” pp. 117-130.

c. Papers: In-Class short turn-around group analysis memorandum #6 {35 minutes }

8. March 10 – No Class – Spring Break

16

9. March 17

a. Topic: State and Local Finances

Guest Speaker

“The share of states’ revenue coming from the federal government surged in the wake of the Great

Recession. The 50-state share peaked at 35.4 percent in fiscal 2010, well above the prerecession 10-year

average of 28.5 percent. The percentage is now dropping as federal stimulus funds decline and state tax

revenue recovers.

After the Great Recession, increased federal stimulus money and reduced state tax revenue meant

federal dollars made up a bigger portion of states’ revenue than at any time in at least 50 years.”

“Federal Funds Provide $1 of Every $3 in State Revenue,” Pew Charitable Trusts, State and Consumer

Initiatives, November 27, 2013. http://www.pewstates.org/research/analysis/federal-funds-provide-1-of-

every-3-in-state-revenue-85899513720

b. Readings:

i. Budget of the U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2016, Analytical Perspectives, “Aid to

State and Local Governments,” pp. 265-274.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2016/assets/ap_15_state

_and_local.pdf

ii. Uwe Reinhardt, “A Deal Too Good to Turn Down, unless It’s Medicaid,” The

Upshot, New York Times, August 12, 2014.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/13/upshot/a-deal-too-good-to-turn-down-unless-

its-medicaid.html?ref=business&_r=0

iii. “State and Local Tax Policy: How do State and Local Income Taxes Work?” Tax

Policy Center. http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/state-

local/specific/income.cfm

iv. U.S. Government Accountability Office, State and Local Governments’ Fiscal

Outlook: 2014 Update, GAO-15-224SP: Published: Dec 17, 2014. Publicly Released:

Dec 17, 2014. http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-15-224SP ; “GAO Sends Clear

Warning: Long-term Debt is on an Unsustainable Path,” Peter G. Peterson

Foundation, August 19, 2015. http://pgpf.org/issues/fiscal-outlook/2015/08/gao-

sends-clear-warning-long-term-debt-is-on-an-unsustainable-

path?_cldee=YmFycnljMkB2ZXJpem9uLm5ldA%3d%3d

v. Elizabeth McNichol, Iris Lav and Michael Leachman, “Better State Budget Planning

Can Help Build Healthier Economies,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities,

October 15, 2015. http://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/better-state-

budget-planning-can-help-build-healthier-economies

vi. Michael Grass, “10 Questions Local Officials Need to Ask Their Budget Directors

About Long-Term Fiscal Sustainability,” Route 50, September 29, 2015.

17

http://www.routefifty.com/2015/09/local-government-fiscal-

sustainability/122291/?oref=rf-home-latest-bottom

c. Papers: Policy Memorandum #2 subject, outline and sources due today – Class 9

d. Mid-Course Evaluation {by class members}—Class 9.

10. March 24

a. Topic: Capital Budgeting and Debt

Guest Speaker:

Readings:

i. Lee, Public Budgeting Systems, Chapter 13, “Capital Assets: Planning and

Budgeting, Analysis and Management, pp. 451-488.[Recommended Reading]

ii. Steuerle, Dead Men Ruling, Chapter 9, “Envisioning a Better Future,” pp. 131-147.

iii. Congressional Budget Office, Capital Budgeting, May 8, 2008.

http://www.cbo.gov/publication/41689 ; Congressional Budget Office, Federal

Investment, December 18, 2013.

http://www.cbo.gov/publication/44974?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBl

itzEmail&utm_content=812526&utm_campaign=0

iv. Rudolph Penner, “Budgeting for Capital Investment,” Testimony before the U.S.

House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,” June 13,

2008. http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/publications/url.cfm?ID=901178 ; Ezra Klein,

“This is how the government should budget. But it probably can’t,” Vox, December

29, 2014. http://www.vox.com/2014/12/29/7459971/capital-budgeting

b. Papers:

i. Policy Memorandum #1 due today – Class 10.

ii. Policy Memorandum #1 In-class oral presentations – Classes 10 and 11.

11. March 31

a. Topic: Intergovernmental Transfers to Local Governments

b. Readings:

i. Lee, Public Budgeting Systems, Chapter 15, “Intergovernmental Systems,” pp. 543-

608; Chapter 12, “Financial Management: Accounting, Auditing and Reporting,”

[Governmental Auditing] pp. 437-444 [Recommended Reading]

ii. David Wessel, Red Ink, Chapter 5, “Why This Can’t Go On Forever,” pp. 129-162.

iii. Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Federal Grants to State and Local

Governments, March 5, 2013.

18

http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43967?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBl

itzEmail&utm_content=812526&utm_campaign=0

iv. Steuerle, Dead Men Ruling, Chapter 10, “Restoring Fiscal Freedom: Another Shot at

Greatness,” pp. 148-160; “Millennials: Today’s Underserved, Tomorrow’s Social

Security and Medicare Bi-millionaires,” The Government We Deserve blog,

September 16, 2015. http://blog.governmentwedeserve.org/

v. Schick, The Federal Budget, Chapter 9, “The Appropriations Process,” pp. 214-274.

{Arlington Library E-Book}.

c. Papers: Policy Memorandum #1 In-class oral presentations – Classes 10 and 11.

12. April 7

a. Topic: Cost-Benefit Analysis

Guest Speaker:

“The current debate in Washington, D.C., is over how to bail out the federal Highway Trust Fund,

which is nearly out of money, not the best way to spend an additional trillion dollars. The Trust Fund

until recently was supported solely by highway user taxes—primarily, federal taxes on each gallon of

gasoline and diesel fuel sold. But even if Congress had the political will to enact a large increase in

those fuel taxes, powerful interest groups would insist that any revenues be divided up among scores of

existing federal highway and transit programs (which include bike paths, sidewalks, and recreational

trails), leaving only a fraction for a trillion-dollar Interstate makeover. If we're ever going to rebuild

and modernize the Interstates, we need to come up with a new way to pay for it.” Robert Poole,

“Who's Going to Pay for New Highways? Our Interstates are wearing out. Here's what we need to do

to fix them.” Reason.com, February 2015. http://reason.com/archives/2015/01/06/whos-going-to-pay-

for-new-high

Readings:

i. U.S. Government Accountability Office, Defense Health Care: Additional Analysis

of Costs and Benefits of Potential Governance Structures is Needed, GAO-12-911,

September 26, 2012. http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-911

ii. Office of Management and Budget, “2014 Draft Report to Congress on the Benefits

and Costs of Federal Regulations and Unfunded Mandates on State, Local, and Tribal

Entities,” May 30, 2014.

.http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/inforeg/2014_cb/draft_2014_cost

_benefit_report-updated.pdf

iii. Budget of the U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2014, Analytical Perspectives, “Benefit-

Cost Analysis,” pp. 97-101.

19

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2014/assets/managemen

t.pdf

iv. “The Economist explains why doing a cost-benefit analysis is harder than it looks.”

April 23, 2014. http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-

explains/2014/04/economist-explains-13

v. Robert Samuelson, “The Life Expectancy Gap,” Washington Post, September 27,

2015, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-life-expectancy-

gap/2015/09/27/a8051094-63a4-11e5-9757-e49273f05f65_story.html ; CRFB, “As

Life Expectancy Gap Widens, The Well-To-Do Collect More Benefits,” Bottom Line

blog, October 14, 2015. http://crfb.org/blogs/life-expectancy-gap-widens-well-do-

collect-more-benefits

b. Papers: In-Class short turn-around group analysis memorandum #7 {35 minutes}

13. April 14

a. Topic: Forecasts and Projections21

“Except in crises, which create their own logic, our political system requires the support or (at least)

the acquiescence of public opinion to make major changes. The only way to cure chronic deficits is to

cut someone’s benefits or raise someone’s taxes. But this requires an open debate to reshape public

opinion. What is government’s proper role? Who deserves benefits? What taxes are effective and

needed?

These are precisely the basic questions that political leaders of both parties evade, because the answers

would offend much of the public. They would jeopardize the protected status of all of today’s benefits

for the elderly. They would reveal that, even after plausible spending cuts, only higher taxes can

balance the budget. Presidents and congressional leaders have judged this sort of candor to be a

pointless exercise in political suicide.

Instead, they take refuge in “budget process” fixes. What we’ve learned after four decades is that, as

policy, this is little better than prayer.” Robert Samuelson, “Budget Policy as Prayer,” Washington

Post, July 20, 2014. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/robert-samuelson-budget-policy-as-

prayer/2014/07/20/f4a0ddb2-0edb-11e4-8c9a-923ecc0c7d23_story.html

b. Readings:

i. Congressional Budget Office, CBO’s Economic Forecasting Record: 2013 Update,

January 17, 2013. http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43846

21

vii. Robert Samuelson, “Budget Policy as Prayer,” Washington Post, July 20, 2014. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/robert-samuelson-budget-policy-as-prayer/2014/07/20/f4a0ddb2-0edb-11e4-8c9a-923ecc0c7d23_story.html

20

ii. Schick, The Federal Budget, Chapter 10, “Managing Federal Expenditures, pp. 275-

303. {Arlington Library E-Book}.

iii. CRFB, “Interpreting Changes in Long-Term Projections,” Bottom Line blog, June 28,

2013. http://crfb.org/blogs/interpreting-changes-long-term-projections; “Life

Expectancy, Health and the Budget” Bottom Line blog, August 7, 2013.

http://crfb.org/blogs/life-expectancy-health-and-budget

iv. Henry Aaron, “Economic Forecasts are Bad, Budget Forecasts are Delusional,”

Brookings Institution, August 7, 2013.

http://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2013/08/07-economic-forecasting-

ineffective-aaron?utm_campaign=brookings-

alert&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=9932521&_hsenc=

p2ANqtz-_miYDTQprDBnVHwpxek_HQhxMiJADCygVd1jg-

7cTzoKRzoSydSbCkWT1CVIn1YUEbcZk2ubY7tZa9Oc2Z_lQBH7tBow&_hsmi=9

932521

c. Papers:

i. Policy Memorandum #2 due today – Class 13.

ii. Policy Memorandum #2 In-class oral presentations – Classes 13 and 14.

14. April 21

a. Topic: Public Investment and Pensions

“To make matters worse, whenever pension funds looked especially robust public employees lobbied for

higher pensions, and politicians were all too willing to grant them. In 1999, at the height of the tech bubble,

California retroactively increased benefits for every government employee by twenty-five to fifty per

cent… Even more egregious, Detroit’s pension fund routinely sent bonus payments to retirees whenever it

had a good year. This weakened the fund and increased the burden on taxpayers, but, since pension

accounting is eye-glazingly dull, few complained.” James Surowiecki, “Deadbeat Governments,” The New

Yorker’ December 23, 2013.

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2013/12/23/131223ta_talk_surowiecki

b. Readings:

i. Schick, The Federal Budget, Chapter 11, “Budgeting for the Long Term,” pp. 304-

320. {Arlington Library E-Book}.

ii. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation Website, http://pbgc.gov/

iii. Pew Charitable Trusts, State and Consumer Initiatives, Issue Brief, “Cities Squeezed

by Pension and Retiree Health Care Shortfalls,” March 8, 2013.

http://www.pewstates.org/research/reports/cities-squeezed-by-pension-and-retiree-

health-care-shortfalls-85899457960

iv. “The State of Retirement: Grading America's Public Pension Plans,” Urban Institute,

June 4, 2014. http://datatools.urban.org/features/SLEPP/ ; CRFB, “Funding

21

Challenges Continue for Pension Insurer,” Bottom Line blog, October 13, 2015.

http://crfb.org/blogs/funding-challenges-continue-pension-insurer

v. Pew Charitable Trusts, Issue Brief, “The State Pensions Funding Gap: Challenges

Persist: New reporting standards may offer more guidance to policymakers,” July 15,

2015. http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2015/07/the-

state-pensions-funding-gap-challenges-persist?utm_campaign=2015-07-

23%20State%20Policy%20Update.html&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua

vi. Jack A. Goldstone, “Bait and Switch Pensions,” NewPopulationBomb, November 20,

2013. http://newpopulationbomb.com/2013/11/20/bait-and-switch-

pensions/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A

+Newpopulationbomb+%28NewPopulationBomb%29

c. Papers: Policy Memorandum #2 In-Class oral presentations – Classes 13 and 14.

15. April 28

a. Topic: Class Wrap up and final review.

b. Exam: The final exam will be an open-book take-home exam, distributed electronically

on the morning of April 30th. The final exam will be due at 11:59pm on May 3rd

.

New Voices in Public Policy

I will consider nominating the very best papers in this course for publication in New Voices in

Public Policy. New Voices is a student – and faculty – reviewed journal that shares SPP’s finest

student work with the rest of the world.

Students with Special Needs

If you are a student with a disability and you need academic accommodations, please see me and

contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC) at 993-2474. All academic accommodations must

be arranged through the DRC.

Policy of Plagiarism of the School of Policy, Government and International Affairs

The profession of scholarship and the intellectual life of a university as well as the field of public

policy inquiry depend fundamentally on a foundation of trust. Thus any act of plagiarism strikes

at the heart of the meaning of the university and the purpose of the School of Policy, Government

and International Affairs. It constitutes a serious breach of professional ethics and it is

unacceptable.

Plagiarism is the use of another’s words or ideas presented as one’s own. It includes, among

other things, the use of words, ideas, or frameworks that are the product of another’s work.

Honesty and thoroughness in citing sources is essential to professional accountability and

22

personal responsibility. Appropriate citation is necessary so that arguments, evidence and claims

can be critically examined.

Plagiarism is wrong because of the injustice it does to the person whose ideas are stolen. But it is

also wrong because it constitutes lying to one’s professional colleagues. From a prudential

perspective, it is shortsighted and self-defeating, and it can ruin a professional career.

The faculty of the School of Policy, Government and International Affairs takes plagiarism

seriously and has adopted a zero tolerance policy. Any plagiarized assignment will receive an

automatic grade of “F.” This may lead to failure for the course, resulting in dismissal from the

University. This dismissal will be noted on the student’s transcript. For foreign students who are

on a university-sponsored visa (e.g., F-1, J-1 or J-2), dismissal also results in the revocation of

their visa.

To help enforce the SPGIA policy on plagiarism, all written work submitted in partial fulfillment

of course or degree requirements must be available in electronic form so that it can be compared

with electronic databases, as well as submitted to commercial services to which the School

subscribes. Faculty may at any time submit student’s work without prior permission from the

student. Individual instructors may require that written work be submitted in electronic as well as

printed form. The SPGIA policy on plagiarism is supplementary to the George Mason University

Honor Code; it is not intended to replace it or substitute for it.

_______________________________________________________________________

Barry Clendenin taught health policy as an adjunct faculty member at the George Mason University School

of Public Policy during the 2009 through 2014 summer sessions and financial policy during the academic

year for 2013-2014 and at the GMU School of Policy, Government and International Affairs during the

academic year for 2014-2015.

He worked at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in the Executive Office of the President

between 1977 and 2008, serving as the Deputy Associate Director, Health Division from 1994 to 2008. He

served as an OMB Budget Examiner from 1977 to 1982, Health and Social Services Unit/Branch Chief from

1983 to 1993 and acting Health Financing Branch Chief from 1993 to 1994. He started Federal civilian

service as a Management Intern in the former Department of Health, Education and Welfare (now HHS)

from 1975 to 1977 where he worked on student loans and higher education policies.

He served in the U.S. Army between 1969 and 1972, including service in Vietnam as an Intelligence Officer

in 1970 and 1971. He studied as a Fulbright Scholar at University College London in 1973 and 1974.

He earned a B.A. from Wake Forest University in1967; M.A. in History from the University of Nebraska at

Lincoln in 1969; Ph.D. in British History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1975.

23

.