President Obama announced his 2011 budget this week, which means analysis and reporting has been pouring in from all directions.

Public Agenda discusses how complicated the budget is, and how difficult it is to just keep up with the coverage let alone getting through the budget proposal itself.

“Budgets are all about setting priorities, and while this budget proposal tells us what the Obama administration thinks the priorities should be, there’s nothing in this long, convoluted process that helps the public sort through options and choices to figure out what their priorities are.”

Sunlight Foundation wishes for a centralized budget information to increase transparency and ease of access to information:

“Wouldn’t it be great is we could easily compare what was allocated versus what was expended? To see how the numbers changed over time? To find the legislative language, OMB’s short summary of a particular appropriation bill, and the agency’s justification all in one place — right next to a report on how it was actually spent? To be able to translate budget-speak and codes into plain English?”

To help us navigate the process, the Sunlight Foundation also points to a budget calendar compiled by Congressional Quarterly.  Speaking to the importance of following the budget:

“When it comes to open, transparent government, there are few things more important to many of our readers than shining some sunlight on the federal budget. Put simply, people want to know how our money is spent – especially since just about every dollar we make between January and May is “spent” on our taxes. And for all that “investment” in our government, it’s one of the only things in our lives we don’t get a receipt for.”