The United States budget is a document that announces how much the government will collect in taxes and spend in revenue, and how those expenditures will be allocated among various programs. The bottom line is how much money the government will spend and where it will spend it. There are three main areas where the government spends this money: defense of the country, Medicare and Social Security. These are called uncontrollable expenditures because they involve contracts already signed, payments such as Social Security guaranteed by law, and interest on the national debt that must be paid if the government is to stay in business. The budget was started in 1921. At this point in time both the president and congress had virtually a say in where the money was spent and how much. Much has changed since then. The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 changed that somewhat. The president will present his budget in January. Then the budget committees of both the House and Senate study the president's proposal and present to the House what's called a total budget cap and a cap for each of the different spending areas. The maximum amount means the maximum amount they will spend for each category. In May, Congress adopts these budget resolutions as goals or guidelines for deciding what to spend in each area. So a new amended budget should “reconcile” the first bill with the appropriate amounts to be spent. After the government has tried for a few years, the budget...