Fiscal Reform Under Pressure

Act as a policy analyst asked to redesign a national budget process that is under pressure from debt, inefficient tax breaks, and rising demands on public services. Identify why budget systems become brittle, then propose reforms to improve transparency, spending discipline, and long-term sustainability. Include how you would evaluate tax expenditures, protect productive investment, and make the process resilient to political short-termism. End with a comparison between incremental reform and a more radical fiscal overhaul.