Public Budgeting in Context

Chapter NineThe Bureaucracy, Citizens, the Media, and Public Budgets

A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it is but a prologue to Farce or Tragedy or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own Governors must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives.

—James Madison to W. T. Barry, August 4, 1822

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After reading this chapter, you should be able to

• Understand traditional theory about the budget behaviors of bureaucrats
• Distinguish bureaucratic budgeting today from traditional theoretical perspective
• Analyze the many components of the execution phase of public budgeting
• Compare budget execution activities among different systems ...