Budget-screening fails to expose real waste

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Budget-screening fails to expose real waste

Renho, state minister in charge of government revitalization, on November 18 said, "The budget-screening process is falling into a vicious circle. If it should continue, criticism will likely declare that the budget for screening itself is a waste. I wish that someone would instruct me as to how the ideal screening process should be."

She made this comment after all the work for the latter part of the third round of screening was finished. The comment reflects the chaotic nature of the "re-screening" process in which the revitalization council chaired by Prime Minister Kan Naoto examined in just four days all the results of past screenings.

Better closed

Even when the council was in session, members expressed doubts about the legitimacy of the council and worried about the screening process. These remarks from insider high officials suggest that the screening process has reached its limit and is in a stalemate.

The budget-screening process has been much touted as a symbol of the change of government. The council used to ostensibly slash budgets promoted by the former Liberal Democratic-Komei government and antagonized bureaucrats just for show.

However, when it comes to the screening of draft budgets requested by the Democratic Party government, an irony is that three key executives at the head of government ministries began criticizing the government's budget cutting effort.

Agricultural Vice Minister Tsutsui Nobutaka said that he will continue requesting a budget increase after the request was denied. This sounded as though he is defying the screening process.

The council's single standard of judgment is if a budget is cost effective in the use of tax money. So, it even decided to shelve some of the projects the Kan government put forward as eye-catching strategic growth policies.

High-handedness

The council used to cut budgets without fully discussing the policies or letting budget claimants speak. In this round of the screening process, only 35-55 minutes were given to the council to approve or reject a budget proposal although some of the project documents were nearly 200 pages.

In the council discussions, economic considerations alone were emphasized, with possible consequences on people's living conditions driven into the background. For example, ten out of the eleven screeners called for the abolition or a cut in grants for state-run hospitals. A national hospital director later commented, "Can they account for the outcome? They talk about nothing other than accounting matters."

The budget-screening process was started in November 2009 ostensibly to eliminate wasteful spending. However, nothing has been done over the military budget and government subsidies to political parties, clear examples of sheer waste. We now see that even insiders are critical of the process, and that the council itself should be screened.

-Akahata, November 21, 2010