ABSTRACT
A large part of the literature on budgeting in the United States is concerned with reform. The goals of the proposed reforms are couched in similar language—economy, efficiency, improvement, or just better budgeting. The crucial aspect of budgeting is whose preferences are to prevail in disputes about which activities are to be carried on and to what degree, in the light of limited resources. One implication is that by far the most significant way of influencing the budget is to introduce basic political changes. Conflicts are resolved by translating different preferences through the political system into units called votes or into types of authority like a veto power. Concentration on developing at least the rudiments of a descriptive theory is not meant to discourage concern with normative theory and reform. If a normative theory of budgeting is to be more than an academic exercise, it must actually guide the making of governmental decisions.
