This story was originally published in  Nonprofit Quarterly on November 4, 2025:  https://nonprofitquarterly.org/peoples-budgets-insist-on-care-first-for-and-by-everyone/ State of the Movements  is a recurring  NPQ  column dedicated to tracking the pulse of social movements and the solidarity economy in 2025. In the shadow of  federal layoffs , President Donald Trump’s administration has inadvertently revealed that budgets are not neutral. Rather, public budgets are moral documents that expose our polity’s deepest priorities and health—or its failures. Limited time only! Help us celebrate version 2.0 of the Library of Things Toolkit by chipping in $100 and receive an advance print edition. To date, working mostly at the city level, people’s budget coalitions have advocated for budgets that truly meet people’s needs. In so doing, they have demonstrated that austerity is not the only option available to elected officials; it is a political choice.…