MyBudget for officials: why a fixed $1 billion forces real tradeoffs

MyBudget asks every official and candidate to split a fixed $1 billion across the ten subjects, and the fixed total is the point. A list of priorities costs nothing to write. A fixed budget makes every priority pay for itself: every dollar given to one subject is a dollar another subject does not get. The split tells voters how a candidate weighs the whole of public life against itself, in numbers anyone can read.

Why is the MyBudget total fixed at $1 billion?

The MyBudget total is fixed so that every answer is a tradeoff, and $1 billion is a round number that makes shares easy to read. $100 million is a tenth. $250 million is a quarter. $500 million is half. A voter can see at a glance that one candidate gave education a third and another gave it a tenth.

The fixed total also makes candidates comparable. If each candidate could choose their own total, one could promise more of everything and the comparison would collapse. With the same $1 billion for everyone, the only way to give more to one subject is to give less to another. That is the choice every real budget makes, and it is the choice talking points skip. See A record, not talking points.

Is MyBudget a real government budget?

No. MyBudget is a statement of proportion, not a proposal for any real budget, and the $1 billion is a scale, not a figure from any government. Real budgets carry commitments that a single vote cannot move. In the federal budget, mandatory spending for programs such as Social Security, Medicare and veterans benefits typically uses over half of all funding, discretionary spending that Congress sets each year usually accounts for around a third, and interest on the debt usually uses less than 10 percent.⁠¹

MyBudget sets those constraints aside on purpose. It asks a different question: if the whole of public money could follow your priorities, how would it split? The answer reveals priorities that a fight over the margins of a real budget never shows. The Tradeoffs chapter explains how a priority differs from an allocation, and why a popular priority can still be hard to fund.

Why does a fixed budget matter for officials in particular?

A fixed budget matters for officials because budgets are one of the main things they decide. The legislative branch’s key roles include surveying the budget,⁠² and Congress sets discretionary funding levels each year through twelve appropriations subcommittees, each handling a different area of government.⁠¹ State legislatures, county boards, city councils and school boards each pass budgets of their own.

An official who has never had to show a full split is asking voters to trust that their priorities will survive the budget process. MyBudget asks them to show the split first. A candidate who ranks safety first in MyPriorities and gives it 8 percent of MyBudget has told voters something important about how the priority would hold up once money is on the table.

How should a candidate approach MyBudget?

A candidate should approach MyBudget from the top down: give the subjects they rank highest in MyPriorities their share first, then decide what the remaining subjects can live with. Work in shares, not dollars. Ask “what fraction of public effort should go here?” rather than “how many dollars does this program cost?”

Practical tips:

1. Check it against MyPriorities. If your first subject receives your fourth largest share, have a reason ready. Some subjects rank high and need less money, such as rights questions settled mostly by law. Say so in “In my words” for that subject.
2. Set a floor. Decide the least any subject can receive. A subject at $10 million has been given a clear signal, and voters will notice it.
3. Think about the office. A city council candidate’s split shows how they would weigh city priorities when the city speaks to the state and federal governments. See Every level of office.
4. Name the hardest cut. In “In my words,” say which subject got less than you wanted and why. That sentence tells voters more than any slogan.

The step by step guide is Fill out your Top 10.

Is an even split a real answer?

An even split is a complete answer, and voters will read it as declining to choose. Giving each subject $100 million says that no subject deserves more than any other, in a record that has already ranked them from first to tenth in MyPriorities. A candidate who truly means it should say why in their post. A candidate who chose it to avoid a decision has met the letter of the standard and missed its purpose.

How should voters read an official’s MyBudget?

Voters should read an official’s MyBudget in four quick looks.

1. The top share. Which subject got the most, and how much more than the next?
2. The floor. Which subject got the least? A floor shows what a candidate would let wait.
3. The match with MyPriorities. Where does the money follow the ranking, and where does it not?
4. The comparison. Set the split beside another candidate’s. Two candidates who rank the same subjects first can still split the money very differently, and that difference is often the clearest contrast in a race.

Read the candidate’s own explanation alongside the numbers. A split with a reason is easier to judge than a split alone.

Unresolved questions

Two questions about MyBudget for officials are still open.

1. Fixed costs. Should candidates be able to mark part of their split as covering existing commitments, so voters can tell new priorities from continued ones?
2. Local scale. Would a school board candidate’s split be easier to read on a smaller total, or does one shared total across every office matter more for comparison?

Make my Top 10

Fill it all out, or don’t run. We deserve to know. Make your Top 10 now and show voters your full split.

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