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| A period of high unemployment and business failures; a severe, long-lasting downturn in a business cycle. |
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| An economic condition characterized by price increases linked to a decrease in the value of currency. |
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| Expansions and contractions of business activity, the first accompanied by inflation and the second by unemployment. |
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| The money available to be spent for goods and services by consumers, businesses, and government. |
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| The total value of goods and services that can be produced when the economy works at full capacity. |
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| Gross Domestic Product (GDP) |
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| The total value of the goods and services produced by a country during a year. |
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| An economic theory stating that the government can stabilize the economy - i.e., can smooth business cycles - by controlling the level of aggregate demand, and that the level of aggregate demand can be controlled by means of fiscal and monetary policies. |
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| Economic policies that involve government spending and taxing. |
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| Economic policies that involve control of, and changes in, the supply of money. |
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| Economic policies aimed at increasing the supply of goods (as opposed to increasing demand), consisting mainly of tax cuts for possible investors and less regulation of business. |
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| The twelve-month period from October 1 to September 30 used by the government for accounting purposes. A fiscal-year budget is named for the year in which it ends. |
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| The amounts that government agencies are authorized to spend for their programs. |
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| The amount that government agencies are expected to spend in the fiscal year. |
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Definition
| For a government, the amount expected or obtained in taxes and other revenues. |
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Term
| Office of Management and Budget (OMB) |
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Definition
| The budgeting arm of the Executive Office; prepares the president's budget. |
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| The two committees of Congress responsible for raising the revenue with which to run the government. |
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| Committees of Congress that can authorize spending in their particular areas of responsibility. |
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| Appropriations Committees |
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Definition
| Committees of Congress that decide which of the programs passed by the authorization committees will actually be funded. |
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Definition
| One committee in each house of Congress that supervises a comprehensive budget review process. |
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| Congressional Budget Office (CBO) |
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Definition
| The budgeting arm of Congress, which prepares alternative budgets to those prepared by the president's OMB. |
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Definition
| Popular name for an act passed by Congress in 1985 that, in its original form, sought to lower the national deficit to a specified level each year, culminating in a balanced budget in FY 1991. New reforms and deficit targets were agreed on in 1990. |
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| Budget Enforcement Act (BEA) |
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Definition
| A 1990 law that distinguished between mandatory and discretionary spending. |
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Term
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Definition
| In the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990, expenditures required by previous commitments. |
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Term
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Definition
| In the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990, authorized expenditures from annual appropriations. |
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Definition
| A benefit to which every eligible person has a legal right and that the government cannot deny. |
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Term
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| In the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990, the requirement that any tax cut or expansion of an entitlement program must be offset by a tax increase or other savings. |
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| Balanced Budget Act (BBA) |
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Definition
| A 1997 law that promised to balance the budget by 2002. |
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Definition
| A system of taxation whereby the rich pay proportionally higher taxes than the poor; used by governments to redistribute wealth and thus promote equality. |
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Definition
| A method of budget making that involves adding new funds (an increment) onto the amount previously budgeted (in last year's budget). |
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| A payment that government must make by law. |
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Term
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Definition
| A payment made by government to an individual, mainly through social security or unemployment insurance. |
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