Fashion blogs are blogs that cover the fashion industry, clothing, and lifestyle.

Definition

A fashion blog can cover many things such as specific items of clothing and accessories, beauty tips, trends in various apparel markets (haute couture, prêt-à-porter, etc.), celebrity fashion choices and street fashion trends. They cover fashion at all levels from the largest fashion design houses to the smallest independent designers.

Many fashion blogs could also be categorised as shopping blogs, similar to the content of fashion magazines. Some retailers in the fashion industry have started blogs to promote their products.

Some blogs focus more on fashion advice, featuring how-to articles for the lay reader. Articles discuss clothing fit, the matching and complementing of colors, and other information on clothes wearing and care along with prescriptive advice on adhering to basic standards and recent trends.

Blogs that only occasionally mention fashion are not categorised as fashion blogs, although they may be labeled by the blogger as such.

Impact on the fashion industry

Fashion is a multi-billion-dollar industry that has considerable impact on the way ordinary people dress and present themselves and relies heavily on media and advertising to communicate the producer's preferences and goals and influence public perception through various types of promotion; at the same time, fashion can be influenced by social change and counter-trends outside the producer, retailer or advertiser's control. As fashion is driven by trends within and without the fashion industry, fashion blogs and other "new media" outside the control of traditional establishment represent a disruptive innovation to the social dynamics of mass media and fashion consumption in modern consumer society. It is likely that the blogosphere will have a considerable long-term influence on the industry, as the number of fashion based blogs continue to grow, with increasing numbers of consumers able to create and modify the media that they consume, and traditional producers and advertisers ad apting their practices to avoid dilution of their own influence.

From the industry’s standpoint

During the 2011 New York City Fashion Week, top-tier fashion designers, Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough (owners and designers of Proenza Schouler), took the time out of their ‘hectic schedules’ during fashion week to help promote the work of fashion bloggers. The two were interviewed by Imran Amed, founder and editor of The Business of Fashion website. In the 5:15 minute long interview, the two fashion designers were asked various questions from an audience of fashion bloggers, including their personal opinions on the effects of fashion blog writing, how it influences the fashion industry as a whole, and how fashion blog posts affects their designing and selling process. When asked about their thoughts on the overall effect of the fashion blogs, McCollough stated, “Blogs posting things about us, going viral, spreading throughout the internet… it has an extraordinary impact on the business”. They also stated how in the past, they would have to wait three, four days t o hear a review on their line, but now the feedback comes almost instant. When asked about how the blogs directly affect their own designs, they explained while they do read numerous blogs daily, they try to take each criticism (positive or negative) with a grain of salt, “We try not to obsess over it” stated McCollough.

Founder of Independent Fashion Blogger (IFB), Jennine Jacob, stated how thrilled she was to get the validation from high-end fashion designers (such as Proenza Schouler) that fashion blogging has an incredible impact on the fashion world. Imran Amed stated that there will always be designers and editors that will never fully wrap their head on the huge impact fashion blogging and social media has on the industry, but on the other side of the spectrum, there are numerous designers, editors, branders and writers that do understand and are “coming on board”. He also states that this is a fairly new phenomenon that will take time for fashion world to reap the full benefits.

New York Times Style section write, Eric Wilson did an extensive study on the impact of fashion bloggers on the fashion industry for one of his style columns. Wilson wrote that these bloggers have ascended ‘from the nosebleed seats to the front row’ in the past year and that the divide between the ‘high code’ editors with a professional opinion and the ‘amateur’ fashion bloggers is beginning to disintegrate. Wilson interviewed prominent publicists, editors and designers. Publicist Kelly Cutrone stated that over the past two years, there has been a complete change in who is writing about fashion. Not only does Cutrone say she needs to keep a watch on the editors of mainstream writings, such as Vogue and Elle, but now she needs to monitor on the millions of fashion bloggers around the world. Cutrone goes on the later state that once these bloggers post anything on the internet, it never comes off, and it now becomes the first thing that the designers will see.

From a reader’s standpoint

The blogosphere has indeed opened up many doors for the fashion industry, one of which is allowing the ordinary people to partake in the 'elite' fashion world and discuss their likes and dislikes on the way fashion is presented in the media. In 2008, the Pulitzer Prize winning fashion writer and former blogger Robin Givhan, claimed that fashion blogs had democratized the fashion industry. Givhan had also written in Harpers Bazaar that 'The rise of the fashion blogger has evolved [fashion] from an aristocratic business dominated by omnipotent designers into a democratic one in which everyone has access to stylistic clothes...the average people, too often estranged from fashion, is not taking ownership of it'. A similar statement was said by Constance White, the style director for E-bay and former fashion journalist, saying that the impact of the fashion blogosphere has allowed the whole population to take ownership of the fashion world, including people of all different races, gend ers, and social standings. The Daily Mail writer Karen Kay suggested once in an interview that blogs allow anyone to both critique and praise designers, regardless of the often ‘needed’ professional opinion, with the help fashion blogs, the consumers are helping to set the trends.

Unlike fashion-focused magazines and television shows, fashion blogs are able to be updated more frequently, keeping up to date with the new and up-and-coming fashion trends. Not only are fashion blogs easier to access, many fashion blog readers (interviewed in Swedish fashion management study) stated that fashion blogs are far more personable and are more 'up to date' on both local and foreign trends. These blogs are granting unlimited access to the fashion world to anyone that has a connection to a computer. Karen Kay also stated that, “These days, before a designer’s runway show has even finished, you can bet your bottom dollar that someone in the audience, or better still, backstage, has recorded every silhouette, signature shoe, styling detail and sulking supermodel, then uploaded it onto the internet for style watchers across the globe to enjoy”. The interviewed Swedish fashion blog readers, stated above, had also stated that fashion blogs had helped sh are and promote new trends to a much greater extent than other fashion mediums. Unlike mainstream magazines and newspapers, which are constricted to what they write, blogs have the ease of writing about anything that interests author(s), allowing for a more broad spectrum of focused fashion trends.

From an advertising standpoint

Many of these fashion blogs also serve as a source of advertisement to both designers and fashion retail stores. These advertisements have had a heavy influence on fashion designers of various standings, helping to give a name to small up-and-coming designers as well as bringing high-end designers back to life. Many of the top fashion bloggers are said to have received free samples of the designer pieces that they have mentioned in their blogs and some top fashion bloggers got paid for wearing and publishing a brand name product on their Instagram account.

In a study conducted through the Biz360 Community, it was found that over 53% of the New York City Fashion Week converge had come from online articles and fashion blogs. While a vast portion of what was written in these blogs came from various mainstream fashion resource magazine and newspaper articles, such as Coutorture and New York Magazine, these fashion blogs provided a larger viewing and reading audience for the fashion week.

In the past years, American Express has become increasingly involved in New York City Fashion Week, and in 2010 American Express sponsored Evolving Influence, the first international bloggers conference in New York City. During the conference, many surveys and studies took place about the usefulness and tactics used in fashion blogs. During the study it was found that bloggers are more comfortable reporting in real-time and incorporating social tools in their opinions of runway trends and designers. After Fashion Week, it was found that 6.37% of all articles written about or related to Fashion Week had mentioned the Evolving Influence main sponsor, American Express. These blogs were not directly paid to mention American Express, so they served as a free source of advertisement for American Express.

These are some of the things fashion journalists have said about fashion blogs and the impact they are having on the industry:

• "These days, to have one finger on the fashion pulse, you need to have the other one on your computer mouse, reading (or writing) the latest blogs."
• "Before a designer’s runway show has even finished, you can bet your bottom dollar that someone in the audience â€" or better still, backstage â€" has recorded every silhouette, signature shoe, styling detail and sulking supermodel, then uploaded it onto the internet for style watchers across the globe to Enjoy."

Number of fashion blogs

There is considerable disagreement regarding the number of fashion blogs in existence. In a February 2006 Women's Wear Daily article, Corcoran stated:

There is an enormous, and growing, number of fashion and shopping-related blogs: about 2 million, according to Technorati Inc., [...] or slightly less than 10 percent of the 27 million blogs the company tracks. (That number includes blogs in languages that use the Roman alphabet and that contain anything fashion-related, including sites such as Pink Is the New Blog, which focuses on celebrities.)

It is likely that this figure is inflated by a substantial number of personal blogs that mention fashion. These are not considered fashion blogs using the criteria above.

All other estimates of the popularity of fashion blogs are considerably lower. In September 2005, La Ferla stated that "as little as a year ago, the number of [fashion bloggers] could be counted in the dozens. Today there are hundreds". Lara Zamiatin estimated in November 2006 that there are now "several hundred fashion blogs".

Types of fashion blogs

Fashion blogs can be categorized in a number of ways:

• Trends & contemporary fashion
• Devil’s Advocate
• Busted Myths
• True Confessions
• Outrageous Claims
• Conspiracy Theories etc.

By writer's expertise

Fashion blogs may be written by insiders, outsiders, or aspiring insiders.

Insiders are people who work (or have previously worked) in the fashion industry or for the traditional fashion media. In addition, some fashion insiders write occasionally as guest bloggers on larger sites. For example, the fashion designer Nanette Lepore has contributed to Glam.com.

Outsiders are people who know a lot (or at least have strong opinions) about fashion, usually by virtue of being very dedicated consumers of fashion.

Aspiring insiders are people who want to work in the fashion industry or media and believe their blog may provide a ‘back door’ entry into a mainstream fashion writing job. Examples of people who have been employed within the fashion industry on the strength of their blogs include:

• Manolo the Shoe Blogger, who now has a weekly column in the Express a Washington Post Publication
• Heather and Jessica from Go Fug Yourself, who recently covered Fashion Week for New York Magazine
• The Budget Fashionista, Kathryn Finney, wrote a book called "How To Be a Budget Fashionista" that was published by Ballantine Books.

By ownership

Fashion blogs may be owned either by individuals or by companies.

The types of individuals running fashion blogs are listed above.

The types of companies now running fashion blogs include large mainstream media organizations and fashion retailers. Condé Nast Publications is a mainstream media organization with fashion blogs. Fashion retailers with blogs include Bluefly, Queen of Suburbia, and Splendora.

History

Fashion blogs are a relatively new phenomenon, so there are no detailed published accounts of their history yet.

Fashion blogs first appeared in the blogosphere prior to 2002. Both the number of fashion blogs and the number of media mentions of fashion blogs has grown considerably since then. Published accounts of the growing number of fashion blogs are mentioned above, and a Facteva search reveals that media articles mentioning "fashion blogs" grew from one in 2002 to over 100 in 2006.

In 2006, the commercial success and growing profile of fashion bloggers were the two main themes in coverage of fashion blogs.

In 2009, CNN wrote about a blogger, Rumi Neely of Fashion Toast, who went from a small website to the runway for a popular label.

Early fashion blogs

Fashion blogs first appeared in the blogosphere prior to 2002, and Kathryn Finney, of The Budget Fashionista, was invited to New York Fashion Week as early as September 2003; a short time later, Fashiontribes.com was being seated fourth row at shows like Bill Blass. By 2008 Tina Craig and Kelly Cook of Bag Snob.com were seated second row at shows like Diane von Furstenberg and Oscar de la Renta.

The fashion blogs that attracted media attention in 2002 include two that are still in existence: LookOnline Daily Fashion Report and She She Me.

In 2004, Michelle Madhok introduced SheFinds.com, "an online shopping publication". By 2005, the site earned $300,000 per year, although most of that revenue went towards running expenses and Madhok paid herself just $40,000 per year.

Recent developments

Recent media reports state that some fashion blogs have become highly profitable, and that the influence of fashion blogs within the industry is growing. It could be said that fashion blogging is now developing from an interesting hobby, to a viable new media business.

Mainstream media acceptance of fashion blogging

Fashion blogs are increasingly becoming a part of the mainstream fashion press.

An increasing number of fashion bloggers were invited to designers' fashion shows in 2006 compared to previous years. Large advertisers like H&M and Gap have bought advertising on fashion blogs, and other large companies like the underwear-maker Jockey are targeting fashion blogs in their PR efforts.

Many big media organizations have started fashion blogs and the best fashion bloggers are now also being offered mainstream media positions. (See above for more details.)

Fashion blogging is also now regarded as worthy of mainstream media coverage. The reference list below shows the very high caliber of media publication that have written about fashion blogs. These publications include the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Fast Company and the Sydney Morning Herald.

Commercialization of fashion blogging

Fashion blogging is rapidly becoming a highly profitable new media business, with a mixture of independent blogs and well-funded fashion blog networks competing to dominate the space.

Other commercially successful independent fashion blogs include The Budget Fashionista, which reportedly brings in $600,000 a year in revenue and The Bag Snob, which "generates a six-figure income, mainly from advertising". By 2008 SheFinds.com was generating $400,000 in revenue per year. Personal style bloggers like Aimee Song from SongofStyle.com has told WWD that she gets paid anywhere from a couple thousand to 50,000 dollars for hosting an event or Instagramming a brand.

There have also been a series of business deals have brought serious investor money into the fashion blogging space. These include:

• October 2006: Sugar Publishing Inc. raised Series A funding from legendary venture capital firm Sequoia, to a rumored value of $5 million. Sugar's small blog network includes FabSugar, a fashion blog.
• November 2006: Glam.com raised $18.5 million in Series C venture capital from a consortium led by Duff Ackerman & Goodrich Ventures, with other investors including "Draper Fisher Jurvetson, which helped launch eBay, Accel Partners, an investor in Facebook, as well as WaldenVC and Information Capital".
• October 2007, Sugar Publishing purchased early fashion blog network Coutorture Media for an undisclosed sum.

References

Learn more »

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (or COBRA) is a law passed by the U.S. Congress on a reconciliation basis and signed by President Ronald Reagan that, among other things, mandates an insurance program which gives some employees the ability to continue health insurance coverage after leaving employment. COBRA includes amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The law deals with a great variety of subjects, such as tobacco price supports, railroads, private pension plans, emergency room treatment, disability insurance, and the postal service, but it is perhaps best known for Title X, which amends the Internal Revenue Code and the Public Health Service Act to deny income tax deductions to employers (generally those with 20 or more full-time equivalent employees) for contributions to a group health plan unless such plan meets certain continuing coverage requirements. The violation for failing to meet those criteria was subsequently changed to an excise tax.

Although this statute became law on April 7, 1986, its official name is the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (Pub.L. 99â€"272, 100 Stat. 82). Because of the discrepancy between the official name of the Act and the year in which it was enacted, some government publications refer to the Act as the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986. The Act is often referred to simply as "COBRA".

Provisions

As originally enacted, Title X of the Act provided that a qualifying employer will not be permitted to take a tax deduction for its health insurance costs unless its health insurance plan allows employees of the employer and the employee's immediate family members who had been covered by a health care plan to maintain their coverage if a "qualifying event" causes them to lose coverage. However, the legislation was subsequently amended to instead impose an excise tax upon an employer whose health plan fails to satisfy the applicable rules. A qualifying employer is generally an employer with 20 or more full-time-equivalent employees.

Among the "qualifying events" listed in the statute are loss of benefits coverage due to (1) the death of the covered employee; (2) an employee loses eligibility for coverage due to voluntary or involuntary termination or a reduction in hours as a result of resignation, discharge (except for "gross misconduct"), layoff, strike or lockout, medical leave, or slowdown in business operations; (3) divorce or legal separation that terminates the ex-spouse's eligibility for benefits; or (4) a dependent child reaching the age at which he or she is no longer covered. COBRA imposes different notice requirements on participants and beneficiaries, depending on the particular qualifying event that triggers COBRA rights. See DOL.GOV's FAQs For Employers About COBRA Continuation Health Coverage

COBRA also allows for coverage for up to 18 months in most cases. If the individual is deemed disabled by the Social Security Administration, coverage may continue for up to 29 months. In the case of divorce from the former employee, the former spouse's coverage may continue for up to 36 months. In the case of death of the former employee, the widow's coverage may continue for up to 36 months.

COBRA does not apply, on the other hand, if employees lose their benefits coverage because the employer has terminated the plan altogether or if the employer has gone out of business. In cases where COBRA does not apply, some states have stepped in with state health insurance continuation laws, usually called "mini-COBRA" laws, which help employees continue their health insurance when federal COBRA does not apply.

COBRA does not, unlike other federal statutes such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), require the employer to pay for the cost of providing continuation coverage. Instead it allows employees and their dependents to maintain coverage at their own expense by paying the full cost of the premium the employer and the employee previously paid, plus up to a 2% administrative charge (50% for the latter 11 months under the disability extension).

According to the U.S. Department of Labor:

...the coverage you are given must be identical to the coverage that is currently available under the plan to similarly situated active employees and their families (generally, this is the same coverage that you had immediately before the qualifying event). You will also be entitled, while receiving continuation coverage, to the same benefits, choices, and services that a similarly situated participant or beneficiary is currently receiving under the plan, such as the right during an open enrollment season to choose among available coverage options. You will also be subject to the same rules and limits that would apply to a similarly situated participant or beneficiary, such as co-payment requirements, deductibles, and coverage limits.

Employees and dependents can also opt for a lesser form of coverage, e.g., to choose continuation coverage under a plan that only covers the employee, but not his or her dependents, or that only provides medical and hospitalization coverage and does not pay for dental work, if those options are available to covered employees.

Employees and dependents lose coverage if they fail to make timely payments of these premiums. Employers are required to inform employees and dependents upon loss of coverage, in writing, by at least fifteen days before the coverage ceases.

Coordination of coverage

An individual covered under COBRA may also be covered by another group health plan or Medicare as long as either of two conditions is met:

• The other coverage was in force as of or prior to the coverage under COBRA.
• The other coverage is subject to pre-existing conditions exclusions or limitations.

Subsidy under federal stimulus

Only 10% of Americans eligible for COBRA insurance in 2006 used it, many because they were unable to afford to pay the full premium after their job loss. While some employers may voluntarily help subsidize or fully cover the cost of COBRA insurance as part of a termination or exit package, it is more common for the ex-employee to cover the entire cost.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 as signed by President Barack Obama includes a 65% subsidy to employees for COBRA-enabled insurance for up to 9 months after an involuntary termination (this has since been expanded to 15 months). An employee is eligible for this subsidy if

• the termination of employment was involuntary,
• the terminated employee has no other group sponsored health insurance option, and
• the terminated employee is otherwise eligible to enroll in COBRA.

If the employee has an adjusted gross income in 2009 over $125,000 if filing as single ($250,000 if filing jointly), then the subsidy will be recaptured in a phased manner from the employee through the tax system.

Termination of employment must have occurred between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009 (later expanded to February 28, 2010, expanded again to March 31, 2010, and then expanded again to June 2, 2010). Specific provisions and responsibilities may differ in the state specific mini-COBRA plans for employers with fewer than 20 employees throughout half of the previous calendar year. Those employees who are eligible for the ultimate benefits of this subsidy are referred to as Assistance Eligible Individuals (or AEIs).

Employers subject to Federal COBRA are required to:

• Notify terminated employees of their potential rights under ARRA by sending a series of notices
• Provide a method for qualified AEIs to enroll
• Pay the full amount of the premiums and seek reimbursement of the 65% subsidy by including it in the Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return (Form 941)

This Act was signed into law by President Barack Obama on February 17, 2009.

On December 19, 2009, President Obama signed into law the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010, which made several amendments to the COBRA provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The Act extends COBRA subsidy eligibility to employees who lost their jobs due to no fault of their own between January 1 and February 28, 2010. The nine-month subsidy period was also expanded to fifteen months.

On March 3, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Temporary Extension Act of 2010. The Act extends COBRA subsidy eligibility to employees who lost their jobs due to no fault of their own between March 1 and 31, 2010. In addition, employees who lost group health insurance due to reduced work hours on or after Sept. 1, 2008, followed by involuntary termination between March 2 and March 31, 2010, will now be eligible for the COBRA subsidy.

The Continuing Extension Act of 2010 extends premium assistance for COBRA benefits through May 31, 2010.

As of June 2010, an extension of COBRA's premium assistance has not materialized, and attempts by congressional members to include such provisions have been dropped. As of June 1, 2010, all newly unemployed workers must pay full coverage costs as determined by their respective plans. This is due in part to conservative Democrats in Congress who have expressed concerns about treating some unemployed workers differently from others, such as people priced out of the private insurance market. A number of Senate Democrats expressed concern about this situation and have introduced legislation to expand COBRA coverage to people who become unemployed through November 2010, but such legislation did not pass in 2010.

Similar state and local legislation

Forty-one states have legislation similar to federal COBRA requiring employers to allow employees and their dependents to continue their group health insurance coverage following certain qualifying events. The district of Columbia also has laws covering COBRA.

California

California's legislation only applies to non-government employers with a group health insurance plan with fewer than twenty employees.

District of Columbia

The District of Columbia's Continuation of Health Coverage Act of 2001 applies to employers with a group health insurance plan with a situs in the District of Columbia and with fewer than twenty employees. Coverage must be offered to be extended for a period of three months following the date that coverage would have ended.

Maryland

Maryland's legislation only applies to employers with a group health insurance plan with a situs in Maryland and with fewer than twenty employees that continuation coverage must be offered to an employee who lives in Maryland, who had coverage from the employer for at least three months, and who either resigns or loses employment due to no fault of their own. Continuation coverage must also be offered to the former spouse and dependent children of an employee after a divorce. One exception to the eighteen-month rule is that coverage may end for the former spouse upon the former spouse's remarriage. Continuation coverage must also be offered to the surviving spouse and dependent children of an employee who dies. The employee must have resided in Maryland and had coverage with the employer for at least three months prior to death. In all cases, continuation coverage must be offered for eighteen months, with the exception that a former spouse's continuation coverage ends upon biye.

Virginia

Virginia's legislation applies to employers with a group health insurance plan, other than an HMO plan, and with twenty or fewer employees. Employers must offer continuation coverage to employees for twelve months. The legislation does not apply to employees who did not have coverage from the employer for at least three months prior to the qualifying event.

Notes

References

External links

• US Department of Labor: COBRA FAQs for Employees
• Employee Brochure, Department of Labor (pdf)
• Other Resources, Department of Labor
• COBRA Insurance Direct Learn more about COBRA Insurance
• COBRA insurance guide Information about COBRA
• Understanding COBRA
• COBRA Insurance Information Center (private website)
• Library of Congress THOMAS summary of the Act.
• General information from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
• COBRA insurance information (private website)

Learn more »

A budget is a quantitative expression of a financial plan for a defined period of time. It may include planned sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities, costs and expenses, assets, liabilities and cash flows. It expresses strategic plans of business units, organizations, activities or events in measurable terms.

A budget is the sum of money allocated for a particular purpose and the summary of intended expenditures along with proposals for how to meet them.

Etymology

A budget (derived from old French word bougette, purse) is a quantified financial plan for a forthcoming accounting period.

A budget is an important concept in microeconomics, which uses a budget line to illustrate the trade-offs between two or more goods. In other terms, a budget is an organizational plan stated in monetary terms.

Purpose

Budget helps to aid the planning of actual operations by forcing managers to consider how the conditions might change and what steps should be taken now and by encouraging managers to consider problems before they arise. It also helps to co-ordinate the activities of the organization by compelling managers to examine relationships between their own operation and those of other departments. Other essentials of budget include:

• To control resources
• To communicate plans to various responsibility center managers.
• To motivate managers to strive to achieve budget goals.
• To evaluate the performance of managers
• To provide visibility into the company's performance
• For accountability

In summary, the purpose of budgeting tools:

1. Tools provide a forecast of revenues and expenditures, that is, construct a model of how a business might perform financially if certain strategies, events and plans are carried out.
2. Tools enable the actual financial operation of the business to be measured against the forecast.
3. Lastly, tools establish the cost constraint for a project, program, or operation.

Corporate

The budget of a company is often compiled annually, but may not be a finished budget, usually requiring considerable effort, is a plan for the short-term future, typically allows hundreds or even thousands of people in various departments (operations, human resources, IT, etc.) to list their expected revenues and expenses in the final budget.

If the actual figures delivered through the budget period come close to the budget, this suggests that the managers understand their business and have been successfully driving it in the intended direction. On the other hand, if the figures diverge wildly from the budget, this sends an 'out of control' signal, and the share price could suffer. Campaign planners incur two types of cost in any campaign: the first is the cost of human resource necessary to plan and execute the campaign. the second type of expense that campaign planners incur is the hard cost of the campaign itself.

Event management

A budget is a fundamental tool for an event director to predict with a reasonable accuracy whether the event will result in a profit, a loss or will break-even. A budget can also be used as a pricing tool.

There are two basic approaches or philosophies, when it comes to budgeting. One approach is telling you on mathematical models, and the other on people.

The first school of thought believes that financial models, if properly constructed, can be used to predict the future. The focus is on variables, inputs and outputs, drivers and the like. Investments of time and money are devoted to perfecting these models, which are typically held in some type of financial spreadsheet application.

The other school of thought holds that it’s not about models, it’s about people. No matter how sophisticated models can get, the best information comes from the people in the business. The focus is therefore in engaging the managers in the business more fully in the budget process, and building accountability for the results. The companies that adhere to this approach have their managers develop their own budgets. While many companies would say that they do both, in reality the investment of time and money falls squarely in one approach or the other.

Government

The budget of a government is a summary or plan of the intended revenues and expenditures of that government. There are three types of government budget : the operating or current budget, the capital or investment budget, and the cash or cash flow budget.

United Kingdom

The budget is prepared by the Treasury team led by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and is presented to Parliament by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on Budget Day. It is customary for the Chancellor to stand on the steps of Number 11 Downing Street with his or her team for the media to get photographic shots of the Red Box, immediately prior to them going to the House of Commons. Once presented in the House of Commons it is debated and then voted on. Minor changes may be made however with the budget being written and presented by the party with the majority in the House of Commons (the Government), the Whips will ensure that is it passed as written by the Chancellor.

United States

The federal budget is prepared by the Office of Management and Budget, and submitted to Congress for consideration. Invariably, Congress makes many and substantial changes. Nearly all American states are required to have balanced budgets, but the federal government is allowed to run deficits.

India

The budget is prepared by the Budget Division Department of Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Finance annually. This includes supplementary excess grants and when a proclamation by the President as to failure of Constitutional machinery is in operation in relation to a State or a Union Territory, preparation of the Budget of such State.

Philippines

The Philippine budget is considered the most complicated in the world, incorporating multiple approaches in one single budget system: line-item (budget execution), performance (budget accountability), and zero-based budgeting. The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) prepares the National Expenditure Program and forwards it to the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representative to come up with a General Appropriations Bill (GAB). The GAB will go through budget deliberations and voting; the same process occurs when the GAB is transmitted to the Philippine Senate.

After both houses of Congress approves the GAB, the President signs the bill into a General Appropriations Act (GAA); also, the President may opt to veto the GAB and have it returned to the legislative branch or leave the bill unsigned for 30 days and lapse into law. There are two types of budget bill veto: the line-item veto and the veto of the whole budget.

Personal or family

In a personal or family budget all sources of income (inflows) are identified and expenses (outflows) are planned with the intent of matching outflows to inflows (making ends meet). In consumer theory, the equation restricting an individual or household to spend no more than its total resources is often called the budget constraint.

Elements of a personal or family budget usually include, fixed expenses, monthly payments, insurance, entertainment, and savings.

There are many informational sites and software available for use in personal and family budgeting.

Types

• Sales budget â€" an estimate of future sales, often broken down into both units and currency. It is used to create company sales goals.
• Production budget - an estimate of the number of units that must be manufactured to meet the sales goals. The production budget also estimates the various costs involved with manufacturing those units, including labor and material. Created by product oriented companies.
• Capital budget - used to determine whether an organization's long-term investments such as new machinery, replacement machinery, new plants, new products, and research development projects are worth pursuing.
• Cash flow/cash budget â€" a prediction of future cash receipts and expenditures for a particular time period. It usually covers a period in the short-term future. The cash flow budget helps the business to determine when income will be sufficient to cover expenses and when the company will need to seek outside financing.
• Marketing budget â€" an estimate of the funds needed for promotion, advertising, and public relations in order to market the product or service.
• Project budget â€" a prediction of the costs associated with a particular company project. These costs include labour, materials, and other related expenses. The project budget is often broken down into specific tasks, with task budgets assigned to each. A cost estimate is used to establish a project budget.
• Revenue budget â€" consists of revenue receipts of government and the expenditure met from these revenues. Tax revenues are made up of taxes and other duties that the government levies.
• Expenditure budget â€" includes spending data items..

References

External links

• The dictionary definition of budget at Wiktionary
• Media related to Budget at Wikimedia Commons
• Quotations related to Budget at Wikiquote
• Origin of the word

Learn more »

The 2011 Wisconsin Act 10, also known as the Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill, was legislation proposed by Republican Governor Scott Walker and passed by the Wisconsin Legislature to address a projected $3.6 billion budget deficit. The legislation primarily affected the following areas: collective bargaining, compensation, retirement, health insurance, and sick leave of public sector employees. In response, unions and other groups organized protests inside and around the state capitol. The bill was passed into law and became effective as of June 29, 2011. Public employees exempted from the changes to the collective bargaining law include firefighters and most law enforcement workers. The bill was ruled to be constit utional by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in July 2014, after three years of litigation.

Legislation summary

• Pension contributions: The bill would require employees of Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) employers, and the City and County of Milwaukee contribute 50% of the annual pension payment. The payment amount for WRS employees is estimated to be 5.8% of salary in 2011. Currently, state, school district and municipal employees who are members of the WRS generally pay little or nothing toward their pensions.
• Health insurance contributions: The bill will require state employees pay at least 12.6% of the average cost of annual premiums. In addition, the bill would require changes to the plan design necessary to reduce current premiums by 5%. Local employers participating in the Public Employers Group Health insurance would be prohibited from paying more than 88% of the lowest cost plan. The bill would also authorize the Department of Employee Trust Funds to use $28 million of excess balances in reserve accounts for health insurance and pharmacy benefits to reduce health insurance premium costs. Currently, state employees on average pay approximately 6% of annual health insurance premiums.
• Health insurance cost containment strategies: The bill directs the Department of Employee Trust Funds and the Group Insurance Board to implement health risk assessments and similar programs aimed at participant wellness, collect certain data related to assessing health care provider quality and effectiveness, and verify the status of dependents participating in the state health insurance program. In addition, it modifies the membership of the Group Insurance Board to require that the representative of the Attorney General be an attorney to ensure the board has access to legal advice among its membership.
• Pension changes for elected officials and appointees: The bill modifies the pension calculation for elected officials and appointees to be the same as general occupation employees and teachers. Current law requires these positions to pay more and receive a different multiplier for pension calculation than general classification employees. Under the state constitution, this change will be effective for elected officials at the beginning of their next term of office.
• Modifications to Wisconsin Retirement System and state health insurance plans: The bill directs the Department of Administration, Office of State Employment Relations and Department of Employee Trust Funds to study and report on possible changes to the Wisconsin Retirement System, including defined contribution plans and longer vesting periods. The three agencies must also study and report on changes to the current state health insurance plans, including health insurance purchasing exchanges, larger purchasing pools, and high-deductible insurance options.
• General fund impact: Authorizes the Department of Administration Secretary to lapse or transfer from GPR and PR appropriations (excluding PR appropriations to the University of Wisconsin) to the general fund estimated savings of approximately $30 million from implementing these provisions for state employees in the current fiscal year (2010â€"11). Segregated funds would retain any savings from these measures.
• Collective Bargaining: The bill would make various changes to limit collective bargaining for most public employees to wages. Total wage increases could not exceed a cap based on the consumer price index (CPI) unless approved by referendum. Contracts would be limited to one year and wages would be frozen until the new contract is settled. Collective bargaining units are required to take annual votes to maintain certification as a union. Employers would be prohibited from collecting union dues and members of collective bargaining units would not be required to pay dues. These changes take effect upon the expiration of existing contracts. Local law enforcement and fire employees, and state troopers and inspectors would be exempt from these changes.
• Career executive transfers: The bill would allow state employees in the career executive positions to be reassigned between agencies upon agreement of agency heads.
• Limited term employees (LTE's): The bill would prohibit LTE's from being eligible for health insurance or participation in the Wisconsin Retirement System.
• State employee absences and other work actions: If the Governor has declared a state of emergency, the bill authorizes appointing authorities to terminate any employees that are absent for three days without approval of the employer or any employees that participate in an organized action to stop or slow work.
• Quality Health Care Authority: The bill repeals the authority of home health care workers under the Medicaid program to collectively bargain.
• Child care labor relations: The bill repeals the authority of family child care workers to collectively bargain with the State.
• University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics (UWHC) Board and Authority: The bill repeals collective bargaining for UWHC employees. State positions currently employed by the UWHC Board are eliminated and the incumbents are transferred to the UWHC Authority.
• University of Wisconsin faculty and academic staff: The bill repeals the authority of UW faculty and academic staff to collectively bargain.
• Debt restructuring: The bill authorizes the restructuring of principal payments in fiscal year 2010-11 on the state's general obligation bonds. These principal repayments will be paid in future years. Since the state is required to make debt service payments by March 15, the bill must be enacted by February 25 to allow time to sell the refinancing bonds. This provision will reduce debt service costs by $165 million in fiscal year 2010-11. This savings will help address oneâ€'time costs to comply with the Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund state Supreme Court decision and make payments under the Minnesotaâ€'Wisconsin tax reciprocity program.
• Medicaid deficit: Medicaid costs are expected to exceed current GPR appropriations by $153 million. The bill would increase the Medicaid GPR appropriation to address this shortfall.
• Authorize DHS to restructure program notwithstanding current law: In order to reduce the growth in Medicaid costs, the bill authorizes the Department of Health Services to make program changes notwithstanding limits in state law related to specific program provisions. The department is expected to develop new approaches on program benefits, eligibility determination and provider cost-effectiveness. The proposed changes will require passive approval of the Joint Committee on Finance before implementation.
• Technical correction: Act 28 included language that required unused GPR expenditure authority in the Medicaid GPR appropriation at the end of the biennium to be carried over to the subsequent biennium. The bill repeals this provision in order to ensure unspent funds in Medicaid lapse to the general fund balance.
• Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRC): The bill transfers an estimated $3 million in savings in this appropriation to Medicaid. ADRC's are the intake and assessment element of the state's Family Care program.
• Corrections: The bill provides $22 million GPR to address shortfalls in the Department of Corrections adult institutions appropriation. These shortfalls are due to health care costs, overtime, and reductions in salary and fringe benefit budgets under Act 28.
• Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) Funding for Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): The bill allocates $37 million of excess TANF revenues to increase TANF funding for the EITC from $6.6 million to $43.6 million in fiscal year 2010-11. By increasing TANF funding, GPR funding for the EITC is reduced by a commensurate amount.
• Income Augmentation Revenues: Allows the Department of Children and Families and Department of Health Services to utilize $6.5 million of already identified income augmentation revenues to meet fiscal year 2010-11 lapse requirements.
• Act 28 Required Lapses by DOA Secretary: Under Act 28, the Department of Administration Secretary is required to lapse or transfer a total of $680 million in 2009-11 from appropriations made to executive branch agencies to the general fund. The bill would reduce this amount by $79 million to ensure the lapses can be met in the next five months as this was ineffectively addressed by the previous administration.
• Lapse of Funding from Joint Committee on Finance (JCF) Appropriation: The JCF appropriation includes $4.5 million related to estimated fiscal year 2010-11 implementation costs of 2009 Wisconsin Act 100 (operating while intoxicated enforcement changes). This funding is not anticipated to be needed in fiscal year 2010-11 and the bill lapses these amounts to the general fund balance.
• Sale of State Heating Plants: The bill authorizes the Department of Administration to sell state heating plants. The proceeds from any sale, net of remaining debt service, would be deposited in the budget stabilization fund.
• Shift Key Cabinet Agency Positions to Unclassified Status: The bill creates unclassified positions for chief legal counsel, public information officer and legislative liaison activities in cabinet agencies. An equivalent number of classified positions are deleted to offset the new unclassified positions. These activities are critical to each cabinet agency's overall mission and should have direct accountability to the agency head.
• University of Wisconsinâ€"Madison flagship status: The bill separates the flagship University of Wisconsinâ€"Madison campus from the rest of the University of Wisconsin System.

Legislative history

On February 14, 2011, Republican Governor Scott Walker introduced the legislation to the state legislature. Initially, legislative Democrats and union leaders offered to accept the increased cost of benefits but not the limited bargaining rights, which was subsequently rejected by Walker. A couple days later, as a tactic to prevent passage of the bill, all 14 Democratic members of the Wisconsin State Senate fled Wisconsin and traveled to Illinois in order to delay a vote on the bill. With only 19 Republican members, the Senate would not have the 20 Senators required for a quorum in order to vote on the bill, since it was a fiscal bill.

On February 20, all 14 Senate Democrats announced they would indefinitely remain in Illinois. Walker and the State Senate's Republicans tried to get the absentee Democrats to return. In late February, the Governor threatened to lay off state workers as the deadline to restructure the state's debt approached, however the deadline passed without incident. State Senate Majority Leader, Scott Fitzgerald, stripped Democratic staffers of their access to the copy machines if their representatives were absent without leave for two days or more, forcing staffers for the 14 legislators on the run to have to pay out of pocket for printing and photocopying. Senators were not allowed to receive their salary via direct deposit if they are absent for two days or more, which would have forced them to collect their pay checks in person, which none could do until they all returned from Illinois after the legislation was signed.

In early March, Senate Republicans voted to fine absent members $100 per day of absence. Wisconsin Senate Republicans ordered the arrest of those senators who had fled the state for "contempt and disorderly behavior", authorizing the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms to seek help from law enforcement officers and to use force to return the senators to the Capitol. However, Wisconsin State Patrol officers were unable to cross state lines into Illinois.

Assembly Republicans began procedures to move the bill to a vote on February 22. Hundreds of constituents had signed up to give testimony while Democrats submitted dozens of amendments and conducted speeches, all which delayed the vote. On February 25, following sixty hours of debate, the final amendments had been defeated and the Republican leadership of the Wisconsin State Assembly cut off debate as well as the public hearing and moved to pass the budget repair bill. The vote was 51 in favor and 17 opposed, with 28 representatives not voting.

In March, Walker offered a compromise to keep certain collective bargaining rights in place for state workers. Workers would be able to continue bargaining over their salaries with no limit as well as allowing collective bargaining to stay in place on mandatory overtime, performance bonuses, hazardous duty pay and classroom size for teachers. The Democratic Senators rejected the proposals as an inadequate compromise. The day after Democrats rejected Walker's compromise, Republicans held a joint Assembly-Senate committee meeting to discuss quorum requirements. The Senate requires a quorum to take up any measures that spend money, however by removing parts of the bill related to money, they had discovered a way to bypass the chamber's missing Democrats. After the meeting, the Senate passed the legislation 18-1. The next day, the Wisconsin Assembly passed the collective bargaining bill with a vote of 53â€"42.

On March 11, Governor Walker signed the bill and put out a statement rescinding layoff notices for 1,500 public workers. The next day, the 14 absentee Democratic senators returned.

Legal challenges

In response, Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk filed suit against the state regarding the bill, on grounds that it was unconstitutionally passed because the budget repair bill contained fiscal provisions. Judge Amy Smith recused herself from hearing the case, which was instead heard by Judge Maryann Sumi. A second lawsuit was filed against the state on similar grounds on March 16 by Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne.

On March 18, 2011, Judge Sumi issued a stay on the bill because it had been passed without the required 24 hours notice to inform the public of the meeting. Attorney General J. B. Van Hollen then announced he was appealing the ruling. Despite this, on March 25, the Legislative Reference Bureau bypassed the Secretary of State's office and published the collective bargaining law, with Republicans declaring it to be the law, which they would enforce.

On March 29, Judge Sumi reiterated her judgment that the bill had not become law regardless of the entity which published it, and public officials who attempted to enforce it risked legal sanctions. On June 14, the Wisconsin Supreme Court overruled Sumi, declaring that the law was passed legally and that Sumi had overstepped her jurisdiction.

On March 30, 2012, a federal court struck down parts of the collective bargaining legislation, ruling that the state cannot prevent public employee unions from automatically collecting dues and cannot require that they recertify annually. However, Wisconsin Attorney General Van Hollen sued and the ruling was overturned by a federal court of appeals on January 18, 2013.

On September 14, 2012, Dane County Circuit Judge Juan Colas, a Democrat, ruled that a section of the budget repair bill was unconstitutional, leaving the law in force for state workers, but not for city, county and school workers. Governor Walker promised to appeal the decision. Under the repair bill, state and local governments were prohibited from bargaining with their workers over anything besides a cost-of-living salary adjustment, including health benefits, pensions, workplace safety and other work rules. The ruling restored local unions' ability to reach so-called "fair share deals" that require all workers within a given bargaining unit to pay union dues, even if they choose not to join.

The ruling appeared to strike down for local workers a requirement that they pay half of the contribution to their pensions and, for workers within the state of Wisconsin health insurance system, pay at least 12% of their premiums. Those cost savings had been crucial for local governments and school districts to deal with the more than $1 billion in cuts in state aid over two years that Walker and GOP lawmakers passed last year to close a state budget hole. Governor Walker's appeal (# 2012AP002067) of Judge Colas' ruling in Madison Teachers, Inc. v. Scott Walker was heard by the Supreme Court of the State of Wisconsin on November 11, 2013. Act 10 was upheld by the State Supreme Court on July 31, 2014.

District and municipal savings

In Kaukauna, school officials put in place new policies they estimate will turn a $400,000 deficit into a $1.5 million surplus. In April 2011, the union had offered healthcare and pension concessions as well as a wage freeze, which it projected would save $1.8 million, but the offer was rejected by the school board. "The monetary part of it is not the entire issue", said board President Todd Arnoldussen. "It was in the collective bargaining agreement that we could only negotiate with them", said Arnoldussen referring to the past, when Kaukauna's agreement with the teachers union required the school district to purchase health insurance coverage from WEA Trust â€" a company created by the Wisconsin teachers union. This year, the trust told Kaukauna that it would face a significant increase in premiums. According to the conservative, Virginia-based Washington Examiner, with the collective bargaining agreement gone, the school district is free to shop around for coverag e. Kaukauna can reduce the size of its classes â€" from 31 students to 26 students in high school and from 26 students to 23 students in elementary school. In addition, there will be more teacher time for one-on-one sessions with troubled students. The money saved will be used to hire a few more teachers and institute merit pay.

The city of Milwaukee projects it will save at least $25 million a year and possibly as much as $36 million in 2012 from health care benefit changes due to not having to negotiate with unions. This is offset by about $14 million in cuts in state aid. This contrasts with Mayor Tom Barrett's initial comments in March, after the Walker administration and the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau released figures on the extent of the aid cuts in the state budget. Regarding Milwaukee Public Schools, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute completed a study in 2012 of the effect on the school district due to the implementation of Act 10 and found that the school system will save $101.1 million by 2020.

The results have been mixed for school districts that had long-term labor contracts in place, how much they already were charging employees for health insurance, their enrollment trends, their fiscal situation, and local political factors. Act 10 allowed for the possibility for districts to re-open union contracts to take advantage of the tools available in the act if the union membership chose to do so up to three months after the bill was signed into law.

Reductions in state aid

The budget repair law reduced state aid to K-12 school districts by about $900 million over the next two years. 410 of Wisconsin's 424 districts will get about 10 percent less aid than the previous year. The biggest losses in dollar amounts will occur in the Milwaukee, Racine and Green Bay districts; Milwaukee will lose $54.6 million, Racine $13.1 million, and Green Bay $8.8 million. State aid to schools is computed by a complex formula based on property values, student enrollment and other factors. Property-poor districts get more aid than property-rich districts because they have lower property taxes. A provision in the budget repair law restricts the options of what districts can collect in property taxes and other revenue by requiring a referendum to prevent them from trying to replace their losses in state aid without first going to the citizens of the district. In Milwaukee, district officials announced they have eliminated 514 vacant positions and laid off almost 520 employ ees, including 354 teachers, mostly from elementary schools, which will result in larger class sizes. The Milwaukee School Board asked its teachers' union for a side agreement requiring teachers to contribute 5.8% of their pay toward pensions, as the union contract extends through 2013. This concession would have saved about $20 million and 200 jobs, however the union refused to make the concession. The Racine district has saved about $18 million from a wage freeze and larger employee contributions to pensions and health care, but the loss of state aid required the elimination of 125 positions (although a larger than usual number of retirements and resignations, as well as soon-to-be eliminated vacant positions meant the district needed to actually lay off 60 employees) and the closing of all but one swimming pool for the summer.

Green Bay district froze wages and required greater employee contributions to pensions and health care, but the district has stopped filling vacancies and may have to combine elementary grades into single classrooms. Almost 70% of state school districts will be eligible for special adjustment aid, due to the decrease in the state's share of support. The special adjustment aid is intended to provide school districts with 90% of the state general aid from the previous year.

Effect on unions

Public employee union membership dropped significantly after the law passed, with AFSCME reporting a drop from 62,818 in 2011 to 28,745 in February 2012. In some cases, the union members were removed by the union after they declined to have dues collected by the union.

Since teachers' unions were no longer able to automatically deduct dues from teachers' paychecks because of the new budget repair law, unions are using a variety of methods including using a combination of meetings, emails, phone calls and home visits to get teachers signed up for dues collection. Some school districts are primarily signing members up for electronic funds transfers so they can deduct money monthly. The latest IRS filing available shows that The Wisconsin Education Association Council collected about $23.5 million in membership dues in fiscal year 2009 from its approximately 98,000 members.

Most of the membership dues go to pay salaries and benefits. The organization employed 151 people and paid them $14,382,812 which is an average compensation total of $95,250 per employee. This figure includes not only professional staff, but also lost wages paid to union bargaining team members, officers, and delegates to conventions. The Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC), announced that it would lay off about 40% of its workforce. The layoffs and budget cuts are based on a projected loss of revenue as a result of the budget repair legislation.

The UW-Madison teaching assistant union, which was at the forefront of the protests against the new budget repair law, voted not to recertify their union in August 2011 in protest over the law's recertification procedures. Union leaders for state and local government workers said they also are leaning toward not recertifying. The Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC), the state's largest teachers union, is the only state union to date that has indicated it plans to seek official union status with the state. The Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC) announced it would allow local union affiliates to possibly drop certification and that the agency would accept whatever the local unions chose.

These issues will be re-determined after the State's appeal of Judge Colas's decision that part of the repair bill is unconstitutional (see above) has been ruled on by the Supreme Court of the State of Wisconsin, which calendared those appeal hearings for November 11, 2013.

"Double dipping" controversy

According to a report by radio talk show host Mark Belling, Tom Maki, the Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, retired in March 2011 due to the reforms proposed in the budget repair legislation. In April 2011, the Vice Chancellor was re-hired without a search and screen process. He returned to his previous salary of $131,000. This permits him to collect both his state pension payments and his salary. State Representative Stephen Nass (R-Whitewater), Chairman of the Assembly Colleges and Universities Committee, expressed outrage at the report that the Vice Chancellor is being allowed to "double dip" by retiring and then being re-hired for his position.

Nass announced he would cancel a public hearing on a bill supported by UW-Green Bay that would allow it and two other campuses to adopt a differential tuition system despite the current tuition cap. He has said he wants to determine if any state laws and UW System hiring rules were violated in this arrangement between the Vice Chancellor and Chancellor Thomas Harden as well as a request that the UW System conduct a review of all campuses to determine how many of these arrangements have been authorized since February. State law prohibits agencies from making an arrangement to rehire someone who is planning to retire before that person leaves.

About 1,100 retirees were rehired in 2011. Maki refused to comment and resigned in disgrace from the vice chancellorship in December 2011. In October 2011, it was discovered that another UW-Green Bay administrator (Timothy Sewall) retired in March and returned to his $110,000-a-year position a month later, collecting both his salary and about $44,000 in annual retirement payments.

Other opinions and reactions

One proposal seeks to diminish legislative oversight of the implementation of, and eligibility requirements for, state Medicaid programs. A clause that would have allowed the state to sell up to 37 heating and cooling plants across the state without requiring competitive bids generated controversy. After certain journalists expressed concerns that this provision could be part of a larger plan to sell state assets at bargain prices to business interests controlled by Charles and David Koch, who supported Walker's bid for governor. Koch Industries issued a statement denying any interest in purchasing any state owned power plants in Wisconsin. Generating controversy also was a proposal, backed by University of Wisconsin Chancellor Carolyn Martin and promoted as the "New Badger Partnership", to separate the flagship University of Wisconsinâ€"Madison campus from the rest of the University of Wisconsin System.

Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling, 2014

On August 1, 2014, it was reported in The New York Post ("Wis. gov wins union battle") that the

Wisconsin Supreme Court on Thursday [July 31, 2014] upheld the 2011 law that effectively ended collective bargaining for most [Wisconsin] public workers ... [the] 5-2 ruling upholds Walker's signature policy achievement in its entirety and is a major victory for the potential 2016 GOP presidential candidate, who is seeking re-election this year. The ruling also marks the end of the three-year legal fight over the law, which prohibits public-employee unions from collectively bargaining for anything beyond wage increases based on inflation. A federal appeals court twice upheld the law as constitutional. "No matter the limitations or 'burdens' a legislative enactment places on the collective-bargaining process, collective bargaining remains a creation of legislative grace and not constitutional obligation", Justice Michael Gableman wrote.

Learn more »

Low or LOW may refer to:

Music

• Low (band), an American indie rock group from Duluth, Minnesota

Albums

• Low (David Bowie album), 1977
• Low (Testament album), 1994
• Low (Low EP), 1994

Songs

• "Low" (Cracker song), 1993
• "Low" (Flo Rida song), 2007
• "Low" (Foo Fighters song), 2002
• "Low" (Juicy J song), 2014
• "Low" (Kelly Clarkson song), 2003
• "Low", by Camp Mulla
• "Low", by Coldplay from X&Y
• "Low", by Inna from the self-titled album
• "Low", by Marianas Trench from Fix Me
• "Low", by R.E.M. from Out of Time
• "Low", by Silverchair from Young Modern
• "Low", by Sleeping with Sirens from Feel
• "Low", by Tech N9ne from K.O.D.

Other uses

• Low (surname)
• Launch on warning (LOW)
• Low (complexity), a concept in computational complexity theory
• Low (computability)
• Low (comics), an Image Comics series by Rick Remender and Greg Tocchini
• Low, Quebec, Canada
• Low, Utah, United States
• LOW Festival, a cultural festival
• Low-pressure area, a concept in meteorology
• Lo Wu Station, a rail station, MTR code LOW
• Louise Weiss building, the seat of the European Parliament

Learn more »

A balanced budget (particularly that of a government) refers to a budget in which revenues are equal to expenditures. Thus, neither a budget deficit nor a budget surplus exists (the accounts "balance"). More generally, it refers to a budget that has no budget deficit, but could possibly have a budget surplus. A cyclically balanced budget is a budget that is not necessarily balanced year-to-year, but is balanced over the economic cycle, running a surplus in boom years and running a deficit in lean years, with these offsetting over time.

Balanced budgets and the associated topic of budget deficits are a contentious point within academic economics and within politics. Most economists agree that a balanced budget decreases interest rates, increases savings and investment, shrinks trade deficits and helps the economy grow faster in the longer term.

Economic views

Mainstream economicsâ€"mainly advocates a cyclic balanced budget, arguing from the perspective of Keynesian economicsâ€"budget deficits provide fiscal stimulus in lean times, while budget surpluses provide restraint in boom times. However, it should be noted that Keynesian economics does not advocate for fiscal stimulus when the existing government debt is already significant.

Alternative currents in the mainstream and branches of heterodox economics argue differently, with some arguing that budget deficits are always harmful, and others arguing that budget deficits are not only beneficial, but also necessary.

Schools which often argue against the effectiveness of budget deficits as cyclical tools include the freshwater school of mainstream economics and neoclassical economics more generally, and the Austrian school of economics. Budget deficits are argued to be necessary by some within Post-Keynesian economics, notably the Chartalist school.

Larger deficits, sufficient to recycle savings out of a growing gross domestic product (GDP) in excess of what can be recycled by profit-seeking private investment, are not an economic sin but an economic necessity.

Budget deficits can usually be calculated by subtracting the total planned expenditure from the total available budget. This will then show either a budget deficit (a negative total) or a budget surplus (a positive total).

Political views

United States

In the United States, the fiscal conservatism movement believes that balanced budgets are an important goal. Every state other than Vermont has a balanced budget amendment, providing some form of ban on deficits, while the Oregon kicker bans surpluses of greater than 2% of revenue. The Colorado Taxpayer Bill of Rights (the TABOR amendment) also bans surpluses, and requires the state to refund taxpayers in event of a budget surplus.

Sweden

Following the over-borrowing in both the public and private sector that led to the Swedish banking crisis of the early 1990s and under influence from a series of reports on the future demographic challenges, a wide political consensus developed on fiscal prudence. In the year 2000 this was enshrined in a law that stated a goal of a surplus of 2% over the business cycle, to be used to pay off the public debt and to secure the long-term future for the cherished welfare state. Today the goal is 1% over the business cycle, as the retirement pension is no longer considered a government expenditure.

United Kingdom

In 2015 George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced that he intended to implement a law whereby the government must deliver a budget surplus if the economy is growing. Academics have criticised this proposal with Cambridge University professor Ha-Joon Chang saying the chancellor was turning a blind eye to the complexities of a 21st-century economy that demanded governments remain flexible and responsive to changing global events.

Since 1980 there has only been six years when a budget surplus has been delivered, twice whilst the Conservative's John Major was Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1988 and 1989 and four times whilst Labour's Gordon Brown was Chancellor, in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001. With Labour only being in government for 12 of the last 35 years this means they have a much better track record of delivering budget surpluses than the Conservatives, who have been in government for 23 of the last 35 years (5 years as part of a Coalition with the Liberal Democrats.)

Balanced budget multiplier

Because of the multiplier effect, it is possible to change aggregate demand (Y) keeping a balanced budget. The government increases its expenditures (G), balancing it by an increase in taxes (T). Since only part of the money taken away from households would have actually been used in the economy, the change in consumption expenditure will be smaller than the change in taxes. Therefore, the money which would have been saved by households is instead injected into the economy, itself becoming part of the multiplier process. In general, a change in the balanced budget will change aggregate demand by an amount equal to the change in spending.

${\displaystyle Y_{1}=c_{0}+c_{1}\left(Y-T\right)+I+G}$

${\displaystyle Y_{1}={\frac {1}{1-c_{1}}}\left(c_{0}+I+G-c_{1}T\right)}$

${\displaystyle G=G+\alpha \,}$

${\displaystyle T=T+\alpha \,}$

${\displaystyle Y_{2}={\frac {1}{1-c_{1}}}\left(c_{0}+I+\left(G+\alpha \right)-c_{1}\left(T+\alpha \right)\right)}$

${\displaystyle \Delta Y=Y_{2}-Y_{1}={\frac {\alpha }{1-c_{1}}}\left(1-c_{1}\right)=\alpha }$

${\displaystyle \Delta T-\Delta G=\alpha -\alpha =0\,}$

Balanced budget multiplier as taxes depend on income

${\displaystyle Y=C+I+G}$

${\displaystyle C=b(Y-T)}$

${\displaystyle T=tY}$

${\displaystyle G=tY}$

${\displaystyle Y=b(Y-tY)+I+tY}$

${\displaystyle Y=bY-btY+tY+I}$

${\displaystyle Y(1-(b-bt+t))=I}$

${\displaystyle Y={\frac {1}{1-b+bt-t}}(I)}$

${\displaystyle Y'={\frac {1}{1-b+bt-t}}}$

Learn more »