Democrats Vote on (Nonbinding) Budget

Congress is taking up its budget resolution today, the Democrats' answer to President Bush's proposal. If you're not familiar with the budget process (and honestly, how many people are?) this nonbinding resolution sets out budget goals, but Congress will have to pass a series of spending bills later in the year to actually implement them. The White House is already vowing to veto some of these bills.

The news coverage so far is focusing on the fact that the Democratic resolution endorses extending some of President Bush's tax cuts (such as the child tax credit and the "marriage penalty" reduction) while adding spending in domestic areas. Both the budget resolution and President Bush's proposal project the budget will be balanced by 2012 (although, naturally, the numbers are quite different).

But some of the most significant points about the budget resolution is what it does not do: there's no permanent change in the alternative minimum tax and there's no action on entitlements like Social Security and Medicare, which in the long run are the bigger problem.