Here’s a quick scenario. This guy has a job (what’s that?). He works hard & is noticed by the boss. The boss comes to him & says he deserves a raise & he’ll make it happen within a few weeks. He is told the raise is expected to be 5%. That night he rushes home to tell his wife (or husband in some states) the good news. She says that 5% will sure come in handy. A few weeks pass & sure enough, he gets that raise. The boss, however, says he could only afford 3%. The guy is still thankful that he received a raise at all. He goes home & shows his wife his paycheck. The wife had already calculated & adjusted their budget for the increase. She takes one look at the check & exclaims, ” You got a 2% cut in your pay?”
That is base line budgeting & that is how our government calculates the budget every year. All departments get automatic increases. If they don’t increase by as much as originally intended, it’s a cut (usually draconian). So when you hear that they in Washington are going to cut the budget, you best believe it’s a lie. If you spend more than last year, you haven’t cut your budget.