Modern budgets in the federal government are more stories than spread sheets.

Consider the three competing budgets for 2014. The House budget is stark. There are no new taxes and spending drop below even the sequester levels. The Senate sets out a very different course. That budget plan increases taxes, mostly on the White House, and restores spending to many parts of the budget.

Today’s White House plan melds the House and Senate into a compromise plan. That is, if compromise is even possible in today’s political environment. Remember that no single plan, not the House, not the Senate, and certainly not the president’s, will be enacted into law without lots of changes, debates, and compromises. This is only the beginning of the process where every line is written in pencil. (The Washington Post has a great graphic that shows how rare it is for a president’s budget to actually get enacted.)

But this is a smart budget. It’s might even work because it’s neither the House nor the Senate approach.

“The budget also incorporates the president’s compromise offer to House Speaker Boehner to achieve another $1.8 trillion in deficit reduction in a balanced way,” the White House says. “When combined with the deficit reduction already achieved, this will allow us to exceed the goal of $4 trillion in deficit reduction, while growing the economy and strengthening the middle class. By including this compromise proposal in the budget, the president is demonstrating his willingness to make tough choices and his seriousness about finding common ground to further reduce the deficit.”

There is a lot to like in the president’s budget because it invests in the areas of government that require more money, mainly education. If you pull back and look at the big picture, the federal government’s primary challenge is demographic -- an aging workforce that’s ready to retire -- so the best answer is to invest heavily in education, so that young people have the skills to earn as much income as possible. (Instead of what we’re doing now: Loading up this generation with student debt.)

The budget: “Improves college affordability and value with a continued commitment to Pell Grants; budget-neutral student loan reforms that will make interest rates more market-based; a $1 billion Race-to-the-Top fund to support competitive grants to States that drive higher education reform, while doing more to contain tuition; a $260 million First in the World fund to spur cutting-edge innovations that decrease college costs and boost graduation rates; and reforms to Federal campus-based aid to reward colleges that set responsible tuition policy, provide a high-quality education and better serve students with financial need.”

It also calls for more money for innovation at the high school level, including “a new, competitive fund for redesigning high schools to focus on providing challenging and relevant experiences, while promoting and developing partnerships with colleges and employers that improve instruction and prepare students to continue education or transition into skilled jobs.”

There is also more funding for science, technology, engineering and math education (or STEM) including money for 100,000 “master teachers.”

All of these programs will benefit Indian Country. Because Indian Country is so much younger than the general population; every dollar spent on education is an opportunity that benefits both reservation communities and the larger society. It’s the ultimate win-win.

But the details of the budget are the sentences that make up the narrative, not the actual numbers. The president’s budget -- and even more so, the Senate’s budget, invest in the future. Those budget spend money on education (as well as other important programs). While the House budget would reflect a dramatic reversal.

So what’s next in the debate? The Congress must answer one simple question, actually. Does the United States government want to invest in the future by increasing educational opportunities for young people? Or cut the federal budget deeply and hope for the best? Modern budgets are stories, sure, but that’s why the numbers matter because it helps policy makers chose which story should come true.

Mark Trahant is a writer, speaker and Twitter poet. He lives in Fort Hall, Idaho, and is a member of The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. Join the discussion about austerity. A new Facebook page has been set up at: www.facebook.com/IndianCountryAusterity

More from Mark Trahant:R Mark Trahant: Native vote holds great potential for 2014 cycle (04/01)
Mark Trahant: Huge changes ahead for Indian health system (03/25)
Mark Trahant: Lawmakers act to avoid government shutdown (03/21)

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