In a similar sense as companies, the U.S. government must prepare a budget each year. However, unlike private, for-profit companies, the budget and its details are available to the public. The entire budgetary process is established by law. The government makes available a considerable amount of information concerning the fed- eral budget. Most of this information can be found on the Internet. Using Internet resources (e.g., consider accessing the Office of Management and Budget), answer the following questions:

1. When is the federal budget prepared?

2. Who is responsible for preparing the federal budget?

3. How is the final federal budget determined? Explain in detail how the govern- ment creates its budget.

4. What percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP) is represented by the fed- eral budget?

5. What are the revenue sources for the federal budget? Indicate the percentage contribution of each of the major sources.

6. How does our spending as a percentage of GDP compare to that of other countries?

7. How are deficits financed?