1997-1998 Harry Singer Foundation National Essay Contest
The Budget Process and the National Debt
Paoli High School, Paoli, Oklahoma
1st Heather Weingarten
2nd Bill White 
3rd Jillian
Davenport
"When asked the question, 'What is the National Debt
and the Budget Process,' I thought to myself, 'Who cares? What's that got to do with me?'
I feel like most of us teenagers think that these problems are only things that the
President tells the public…so the public thinks he is doing something besides
drinking coffee in the White House. Well, through researching for this report, I found
that it is a lot more than that."
Garrett M. Benson, Paoli High School, Paoli, Oklahoma
"The federal budget is a forecast of governmental
expenditures and revenues for the next fiscal year. The responsibility of preparing the
budget falls into the hands of the President and his Office of Management and Budget.
Submitted in January, the budget has to go through many stages before it goes into action.
First, several subcommittees of the House of Representatives examine the budget in great
detail. Then, if needed, they propose minor amendments. Second, the budget goes through
the examination of Congress, which in past times has made a large impact on the final
product. It then goes back to the President for his approval and signature. If the
President completely disagrees with the changes, he can make additional adjustments and
send the budget through the long process again and again until an agreement can be
reached."
Jillian Davenport, Paoli High School, Paoli, Oklahoma
"The Budget Control Act of 1974 weakened the President's authority
over budgeted spending for more than fifteen years and finally succeeded when Nixon was
stuck in the Watergate scandal. Congress was forced to pass thirteen appropriations each
year. According to the constitutional historian, Professor Forrest McDonald of the
University of Alabama, it was understood that Congress was to provide a lump sum ceiling
on expenditures and the executive branch was to determine how the funds were to be spent.
"More important, until 1974, Presidents repeatedly impounded appropriations and
refused to spend them. Congress had no recourse. Thus from the inauguration of Washington
until Richard Nixon's last year in office, Presidents employed several means to exercise
what amounted to an absolute line item veto."
Misty Dawn Costanza, Paoli High School, Paoli, Oklahoma
"The federal government will spend an estimated amount just shy of
$1.7 trillion in the 1998 fiscal year. This spending is a compilation of many categories,
the largest being Social Security. Social Security provides support to more than 43
million retired and/or disabled workers and their families. "
Bill White, Paoli High School, Paoli, Oklahoma
"I do like the plan President Clinton made by giving the people who
are on Medicare only three years to find a job and to get off welfare. I understand the
people on welfare need the money because I am on welfare and I am not ashamed of being on
welfare. It is an excellent fund for people like my family and me. But there are some
people who abuse the money given to them. For example, some claim to be single but have a
husband sitting on the couch all day watching TV. Some people have more kids just to have
the money. In conclusion, the deficit is a major issue of today's people. The President
and the Government are going to have a rough time figuring how to balance the
budget."
Mandy Roberts, Paoli High School, Paoli, Oklahoma
"If laws were stricter about welfare, the government would be able to cut the cost of what they pay to their recipients. Any person on welfare should be able to find a job to earn some kind of money. Every town has some place of employment. At times, every one must swallow his/her pride and work somewhere that only pays minimum wage. It is not acceptable for all the people who are employed and pay their taxes to support those who won't even try. The government has put a limit on the period of time a person is eligible to receive government assistance. They should also assure people that Food Stamps could not be traded for money. In Texas and Oklahoma, laws have done away with the actual Food Stamp. Recipients now use a LoneStar card or an Access Oklahoma card. They are modeled after a credit card. Cardholders are given a certain agreeable amount of funds that can be used for the purpose of purchasing groceries for the month.
If the government was to put its expenditures on a priority list, making sure that
mandatory items are paid for first, then the government would have enough money to pay for
"wanted" items. It would help recycle money into our economy. For every dollar
that was being paid out, there would be another dollar being paid in. Every household must
balance a budget. If they believe that they will be short on money for the month, they may
decide to postpone any unnecessary activities for the month. They make a list of their
priorities. Wants and luxuries are at the bottom of the list; they are purchased with any
excess money that is available. Social Security, Medicare, and veteran's benefits are
necessities that need to be paid for first. Items such as money sent to other countries to
help them financially can be postponed."
Misty Dawn Costanza, Paoli High School, Paoli, Oklahoma
"Also, unemployment and welfare need to cut down on people that do not like to work and pretend they are unable to so they can draw their unemployment and get welfare. Today, you see people driving expensive cars, living in fancy houses, dressing to kill and still able to draw welfare. Workmen's Compensation is taken advantage of, too. For example, when my father owned an oil company, a man said he hurt his wrist. After he got his workmen's compensation, he took a job as a painter. Another man was supposedly hurt so badly he could not even pick up a skillet. But after he received his workmen's compensation, he got a job as a carpenter. Just think of all of these companies that worked hard for everything they have gotten and are paying these people for fraud. Because of these two people and others, my father lost his business because his company could not afford to pay for its workmen's compensation costs.
If the country would just crack down on these people, then we would not be paying for the people that did not need it. But, today they are trying to help parents on welfare to get out of debt by helping them find jobs. I would much rather go into debt by helping someone that needed it than helping some lazy person committing fraud.
It is very sad to hear about little kids dying, but what about the kids here in the United States rather than the ones in other countries. Also, when we go to war we send money for the repairs and send money for food. We could still help, but not go overboard with spending money. What would happen if there were no more money left to even take care of our own country. Do you really think that they would help us?
The government can lessen armed forces expenses and limit their spending. We could also
not send as many people to the military when no one is being used. Save the money. We
could also lower welfare and limit the time a person can spend on it. Too much money is
being put into special services and nothing is coming back. All money taken from work
paychecks should be in a direct deposit to the national debt. The people of the United
States work and they get about fifteen to twenty percent of the money taken away for
taxes. Then, all the tax money goes to things we can live without. Also, the government
makes budgets too high for the departments. Decrease their budgets, because the government
could use some of the money to pay off the debt."
Amanda Webster, Paoli High School, Paoli, Oklahoma
"April 15 of every year is a day dreaded by just about every United States citizen. It is the deadline for filing family income tax for the previous year. Even though people complain, they do not realize it is the only way to keep the government running. It helps keep our military equipment up to today's standards, pays the wages of government officials, helps with research, and pays for welfare. Tax money that the government receives pays for Social Security, Medicare, and veteran's benefits also.
I believe that if every citizen takes his/her responsibility seriously, our government
will be able to balance the budget within the next ten years. A lot of people like to be
paid cash for their services instead of by check. This way they can avoid paying taxes to
the government. This is not only cheating the government, but is also cheating the payer
out of the Social Security benefits that can be received in the future. Many adults are
always telling adolescents to take responsibility. Paying taxes is not only a big
responsibility; it is also a law. It is a law that everyone must follow."
Misty Dawn Costanza, Paoli High School, Paoli, Oklahoma
"We must also become honest people who don't try to get all they can out of the government. Too many people in today's society try to get out of paying their taxes. Others don't even file taxes for years. The biggest problem of corruption can be found in the subprograms of the Social Security Program. In every town, someone is trying to outdo the system. A good example is one of a man who bought my grandmother's house. He is an older man who claims SSI due to what he claims is a chronic back problem. He supposedly isn't able to work at all but, on any given day, he can be found doing a number of strenuous activities. In the past couple of years, during which he was claiming SSI, he has added a chimney, a pipe-fence, and a tin roof to his house. He also drives a tractor on a regular basis, an activity that would be impossible if a person was a victim of severe back pain.
Unfortunately, these kinds of cases cause many politicians and American citizens to come to the conclusion that we don't need the Social Security system. These people only look at the problems and don't consider the impact the Social Security program has on many of America's elderly and the legitimately disabled.
The Social Security Administration was created by the Social Security Act of 1935 to administer the nation's Social Security program. Today, the program is made up of three main parts to help three different groups of people The first part is the old-age, survivors, disability, and hospital insurance which is also known as OASDHI. OASDHI forms the foundation of the social security system. It provides a means of income to over 90 percent of the elderly who otherwise would not be able to achieve some kind of economic security. It helps replace lost income due to retirement, disability, or death. It even pays part of the medical care for people age 65 or older, allowing them to get the care they need. The second part is unemployment insurance. It was established to provide weekly cash payments for workers who have lost their jobs provided that they look for a new job while they receive payment. The last part is worker's compensation. Worker's Comp, as it is commonly known, aids people who are injured as a result from their job. It also pays death benefits and pensions to the dependents of a worker who was killed due to work.
President Clinton is on the right track to fixing Social Security. He believes that the
public needs to be informed about the system if it is going to be successful. Therefore,
he has planned to attend many conferences on Social Security reform. He will then host a
White House conference to share his findings with the nation. By keeping the people
informed about Social Security, hopefully, more will understand the need to get rid of the
abusers. When they see a SSI recipient that works just as hard as the next guy, they will
immediately turn him in."
Jillian Davenport, Paoli High School, Paoli, Oklahoma
"Congress raised or extended the temporary debt ceiling thirteen times during the
1960's and eighteen times in the 1970's. The permanent debt ceiling was set at $400
billion just to pay the interest on the national debt for one year. For many years, the
permanent $400 billion debt limit held fast while temporary debt limits increased: $535.1
billion of temporal debt in 1982, $890.2 billion in 1983 and finally on May 26, 1983, the
distinction between permanent and temporary debt limits was abolished. Since then, a less
deceptive but steady rise in the debt limit has occurred, which amounted to $5.5 trillion
at the end of March 1996."
Mandy Roberts, Paoli High School, Paoli, Oklahoma
"Clinton has a plan of reform for the next five years. However, he intends to move
many spending programs to an off-budget status which, in turn, lowers the deficit, but
doesn't lower the debt. This focus on the deficit while neglecting the debt causes the
interest on the debt to increase it even more."
Bill White, Paoli High School, Paoli, Oklahoma
"Investing money into our future is an excellent way to balance the budget. Taking
care of schools and other education facilities will prove to have a positive outcome.
Education is very important to the future of our nation. Without it, we would not have
anyone sophisticated enough to balance the budget. Teach students today how to balance
their budgets, and one day they may be able to plan and balance our nation's budget. The
future of tomorrow depends on the actions of today."
Misty Dawn Costanza, Paoli High School, Paoli, Oklahoma
"People no longer want to hear talk only of a decrease in the deficit or lower
government spending. People want to see results. But, the only way they will get these
results is if they do their part. "Can anyone here say that if we can't do it,
someone down the road can do it? And if no one does it, what happens to the country? All
of us here know the economy would face an eventual collapse. I know it's a h-- of a
challenge, but ask yourselves: "If not us, then who? If not now, then when?"
Ronald Reagan made this point in September of 1981."
Amy Sutherland, Paoli High School, Paoli, Oklahoma
"For 30 years, politicians have been trying to find a balanced budget, something
that would be nice to have someday. If only we could do it by not hurting anybody. No one
in the White House or the people agrees on a way to budget America's money. We have a
so-called budget now, but if no one agrees to it, then what good is it? People are going
to have to accept the decreases in all the programs for now, until we get the deficit
down. The cuts might cut jobs and terminate programs, but how else is the deficit going to
be paid off? Should we keep everything and owe the money forever?"
Raymond Bailey, Paoli High School, Paoli, Oklahoma
"We all seem to get along so well when a crisis occurs. Yet, in the best of times,
it can seem like the worst of times. Learn to get along with each other as if it were out
last days here on earth. The world would be a much happier place. Let's show them we can
do it."
Amanda Webster, Paoli High School, Paoli, Oklahoma
"It's great to want to help people, but our Constitution does not authorize Congress to do so. Its spending authority is Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. A dim-witted Congressman might say, 'We do have authority for those spending programs under the welfare clause.' Yeah, whatever. James Madison, the father of our Constitution, said, "I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article in the Constitution which granted a right to Congress for expending, on the object of benevolence, the money of their constituents.'
We cannot lay the entire blame, not even an important share of it, at the feet of Congress. American people are to blame for our fiscal mess. We elect Congressmen who will the power of their offices to take some other American's earnings to subsidize: our children's education, our farms and businesses, our retirement and medical needs, and volumes of other desires. Any Congressman who'd respect, heed and obey the letter and spirit of the Constitution would not get our vote. Our hero is the Congressman who exhibits the deepest contempt for the limitations of the Constitution's Article I, Section 8.
Maybe I am being too harsh. Maybe my fellow Americans think Congress is authorized to do anything that's wonderful. In that case, I'd suggest that we heed Abraham Lincoln's admonishment, 'Study the Constitution. Let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislatures, and enforced in courts of justice.'
We vote these people into office. When they do not follow the guidelines of the
Constitution we should vote them out. It is that simple. Only there is one catch: We must
first understand the Constitution. Do the teachers in our schools know how to teach a true
understanding of the Constitution? Do they want to teach the real Constitution? Or
are they content to see this country drift into socialism? Constitutional ignorance is
curable, whereas constitutional contempt is hopeless."
Heather Weingartner, Paoli High School, Paoli, Oklahoma
"If every person in the United States pitched in five bucks, in about twenty years
we might get rid of the national debt."
Branum Keith Webster, Paoli High School Paoli, Oklahoma
"The debt hasn't been caused by mismanaging alone. It originally began in the
1790's when the United States was first established. Since the Revolutionary War had just
ended, many of the states had incurred huge debts. When they all came together to form our
country, the government assumed all debts. From this time until the 1980's, wars were the
main cause of the national debt."
Jillian Davenport, Paoli High School, Paoli, Oklahoma
"I don't know, maybe we could all forget about the deficit and start all
over. If it's money we owe ourselves, then if we didn't pay ourselves back, it wouldn't be
such a bad thing. I sure don't have a burning desire to pay myself back. Let's just start
all over."
Garrett M. Benson, Paoli High School, Paoli, Oklahoma
"I am scared for myself and other young people who are going to have to face this
problem by ourselves."
Mandy Roberts, Paoli High School, Paoli, Oklahoma
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