Biden’s budget doesn’t matter
Every year, the president puts forth a budget. And every year, the media diligently reports on it as if it matters to what the government will do over the coming year. Don’t get me wrong: budgets are important. They provide a sense of their crafters’ priorities and a roadmap for achieving their goals. But budgets don’t hold the force of law, which means — in our government — they serve as non-binding blueprints and little else. This is especially true of presidential budgets. That’s because while the budgetary process starts with the president, where it goes from there is determined by Congress alone. During the Trump years, Congress didn’t even bother bringing the president’s budget to a vote.
