Budget through federalism lens

Nearly a decade after the adoption of federalism, an important question remains: Does the budget truly reflect its spirit? It does so only partially.

The federal budget is more than an annual statement of revenues and expenditures; in a federal system, it reflects how power, resources and responsibilities are distributed among different levels of government. Whether a budget strengthens or weakens federalism, therefore, depends not only on the size of public expenditure, but also on who receives the resources, who exercises spending authority and whether the constitutional division of powers is respected.