Equity in budgeting: U.S. state and local government initiatives

A government’s budget is the most important statement of its priorities. Budgets provide information on how public resources are mobilized and allocated and are the key instruments through which government policies are made and changed. Historically, budgets have not been perceived as instruments to advance equity, a core value of society critical for ensuring that the social contract between citizens and the state is met. When equity has been specifically addressed in budgetary considerations, it has generally been regarding economic issues such as the differential impact of tax policies across income groups. In recent years, however, governments in the United States at all levels have begun to use budget actions to advance equity, especially for historically marginalized groups. In this research, we answer the question: what budget actions have been undertaken by U.S. state and local governments to structure taxing and spending, to advance social equity goals? We also provide several recommendations for state and local governments to consider in their efforts to infuse equity into their budgeting processes to advance a whole-of-government effort to actualize this critical social goal.