What a difference there is between the way the federal government does business and the way our Hamilton County Commission handles its duties.
It is no mystery that when Congress lacks the money for any good - or bad - program or project, it often seeks either to raise taxes or to borrow more money. Both of those actions harm the economy.
But it's different in Hamilton County.
County Mayor Jim Coppinger is expected to present a draft budget to commissioners today that is likely to be somewhat smaller than this year's budget of $638 million.
The county is facing the loss of almost $11 million in annual revenue, now that the county's sales-tax agreement with the city of Chattanooga has expired.
That money was used to fund various local programs, including those at important agencies such as the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department.
But unlike President Barack Obama and all too many of our lawmakers in Congress, Coppinger is not reflexively calling for a tax increase to make up the difference between what we want and what we can afford.
Rather, he is proposing some tough choices and belt-tightening to deal with the loss of funds. In fact, he has stated clearly that he does not plan to call for a tax hike on county residents.
"There shouldn't be any surprises," he said. "[You] should expect what we've been talking about for the last several months."
That conservative approach is commendable. In a time of economic crisis such as our nation is currently experiencing, it is highly inadvisable to impose increased taxes on financially distressed individuals or on businesses that we are relying on to create jobs.
Working with less money than expected is never easy or pleasant, of course, and Coppinger says there will have to be elimination of some jobs and services throughout county government. The Health Department, for instance, is expected to face major cuts.
No one relishes the prospect of job losses or reduced services.
But with money simply not flowing freely into government coffers, Hamilton County is taking the steps it has to take to balance its budget and avoid destructive tax increases.
How we wish our president and our lawmakers in Washington would follow that common-sense example and begin cutting spending at the federal level as well.