When Budgeting Was Easier: Eisenhower and the 1960 Budget

The paper looks back to time when budgeting was easier and budget outcomes were superior. Although it is impossible to replicate the past exactly, there are certain characteristics of past budgets that might be emulated. The paper focuses on Eisenhower's battles to balance the 1960 budget. The task was not easy and the result had to be bipartisan since Democrats had significant majorities in the House and Senate. But budgeting was less difficult than it is today, because almost all spending was controlled by annual appropriations, and popular, rapidly growing entitlements for the elderly were very much less important. The president's budget was also much more prestigious and influential. Approaches to gaining more control over entitlements are explored as is the more difficult task of restoring the influence of the president's budget.