Federal budget is planned by the Congress, and this is a process in which it is necessary to determine which ones would be the priorities for spending, but most importantly, what criteria should be used to determine basically <em>who</em> will be this addressed to.This process is normally a rational process, using different information sources and criteria to determine which would be the items toinclude in the budget.
It is composed by three different categories: mandatory spending, which is that necessary spending to run the government and basic social assistance; the discretionary spending, which is that which can be discussed and which needs to be analyzed according to the criterion mentioned above. And finally, the smallest portion of the budget is used on paying interests on debts. Certainly, the budgeting process supposes a complex interaction in which choices have to be made and interests might be satisfied, but this is part of the process and the normal function of the Government.
Since the decisions regarding which items should be privileged when the federal budget is being created are based on specific criteria, it would be very simple to say that the defense budget should be considerably reduced in order to satisfy education needs, because this might be morally correct, but the reality is that one of the key issues when discussing budget is not exaclty how much or what items this budget is spent on, but how much benefit do citizens receive through this spending, because that would be a more convenient balance:to have a Government which spends on those items which better return to each one of the citizens.
