Welcome to Talking About Budgets and Taxes – a toolkit compendium of research on how Americans think about budgets and taxes, and how to increase public support for policies that support reforms to the budgeting process and tax system. As explained in in the budgets and taxes values research report, Ounce of Prevention¹:

"The twinned processes of allocating money and setting tax rates are central to governance. In a nation as complex as the United States, even the most expert can be forgiven for not understanding these processes to their full extent. How much harder is it for ordinary citizens to do the same?"

The research reported here indicates that it is quite a bit harder. But effective communications can help engage the public in understanding budgeting and taxation, and improve support for progressive policy alternatives. The MessageMemo explains and interprets the research findings, and the Applications provide front-line communicators with essential tools for deploying the evidence-based framing strategies reported in the Memo.

This toolkit was developed by the FrameWorks Institute for the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, which supports creative people and effective institutions committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. Additional funding for the research informing this toolkit comes from Demos and Kansas Action for Children.

Message Memo

How to Talk About Budgets and Taxes: A FrameWorks MessageMemo
This MessageMemo summarizes the findings from our research and provides advocates with a communications map for improving the public's understanding of the linked topics of budgets and taxes, and for shifting attitudes and support for policy alternatives.

Applications

This section provides a variety of framing tools intended to help advocates understand and apply the research findings and recommendations on how to talk about education reform.

Talking Points
A reminder of the core elements of the budgets and taxes frame for use in preparation for media interviews, editorial board visits, or other public communications.
Sample Op-Ed
An example of how to apply the framing strategies on tax and budget policy to the format of a guest editorial in a newspaper.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Common questions about budgets and taxes, with examples of effective and less-effective responses to each question.
Using Data Effectively
A brief discussion of how to effectively use data in budgets and taxes discussions, with social math examples.

Key Framing Guides

Navigating the Swamp
A graphic representation of the swamp of dominant patterns of thinking about budgets and taxes. This can serve as a reminder of the themes in public thinking that your communications should avoid.
You Say…They Think
An analysis of a series frame clashes – you say one thing and the public thinks another – which shows how certain ways of framing budget and taxes can get eaten in the swamp.
Basic Message Template
The outline of a new frame for communicating about budgets and taxes. The talking points, FAQs, and Sample Op-Ed in this toolkit show a variety of ways to apply this basic template.

Research

Like Mars to Venus: The Separate and Sketchy Worlds of Budgets and Taxes (2009) This report uses cognitive interviews to investigate Americans’ thinking about budgets and taxes- both as separate issues and as they relate to each other. FrameWorks researchers found that the concepts of budgets and taxes remain largely unconnected in the minds of Americans. This gap in public understanding is explored and possible opportunities for reframing this issue are suggested.
Having Our Say: Getting Priority, Transparency and Agency into the Public Discourse on Budgets and Taxes (2009) This second phase of research uses group discussions to test potential reframes that were generated in the cognitive interviews. This method helps to show how Americans negotiate these issues in group settings and in public discussions. Recommendations for improved communications strategies are provided.
An Ounce of Prevention: Experimental Research in Strategic Frame Analysis™ to Identify Effective Issue Frames for Public Budgeting and Taxation Systems (2010). This report details the results of an experimental survey of 6,700 registered voters and evaluates whether alternative ways of communicating can bridge the gap between expert and lay understandings of the US budgeting and taxation systems. Although advocates typically use the Crisis frame or simply give descriptive information to the public about the state of fiscal policies, this research suggests that neither approach is likely to move support for policies that reform our system of budgets and taxes.
PLANNING FOR OUR FUTURE: The Contribution of Simplifying Models to Conceptualizing Budgets and Taxes
This report presents "Forward Exchange" as a simplifying model that helps people reason about the connection between budgets and taxes. It also reports, step by step, the research process undertaken to arrive at this conclusion.

^1. Simon, Adam. (2010). An Ounce of Prevention: Experimental Research in Strategic Frame Analysis™ to Identify Effective Issue Frames for Public Budgeting and Taxation Systems. Washington, D.C.: FrameWorks Institute.