The intricacies of budget processes and procedures may initially appear mind-numbingly boring to even a passionate student of politics, but decisions about taxing and spending touch on core questions in political science and public policy about which actors in the polity hold power. The political scientist Harold Lasswell famously defined politics as ``who gets what, when and how.’’ Very few decisions touch on these core questions as clearly as budgets, which are essentially collective authoritative decisions made about who and what activities will provide the resources for government and on whom and what these revenues will be spent. Indeed, because they take scarce resources and allocate them toward essentially infinite potential social needs and policy problems, budgets are also succinct statements about the priorities of governments and the values of societies. Therefore, understanding taxing and spending decisions is central to understanding politics and public policy.