Fiscal responsibility and social efficiency

Valparaiso, September 30, 2026 Finance Minister Jorge Quiroz formally delivers the 2027 Budget Bill to the National Congress Sebastian Cisternas/Aton Chile SEBASTIAN CISTERNAS/ ATON CHILE CommentsSIR: The transparent and rigorous use of public funds constitutes one of the fundamental ethical and political obligations of any administration. Every peso that makes up the State's budget comes directly from the effort of taxpayers, who hand over their resources with the expectation that they will translate into effective improvements in their quality of life. For this reason, the social evaluation of programs is not a dispensable technical formality, but the moral and technical standard that justifies the existence of every public policy. Closing programs that have received a negative social evaluation constitutes, above all, an act of respect and responsibility toward taxpayers. Maintaining inefficient initiatives out of fear of political cost or to please one's own party's base is nothing more than a form of populism. Likewise, sustaining funding for projects whose only virtue is benefiting allied or party-affiliated groups erodes institutional trust and undermines the foundations of democracy. The State should not act as a distributor of political or economic privileges, but as a responsible steward of collective well-being. Freeing up resources wasted on failed programs—that is, those with negative social present value—allows fiscal investment to be redirected along two indispensable paths: scaling up policies that have demonstrated proven social impact and implementing new initiatives that have passed the thresholds of social return evaluation. This continuous cycle of evaluation, adjustment, and reallocation is the only viable path to guarantee public spending that reduces inequality gaps, fosters sustainable development, and transforms public policies into a complement to private activity. Defending the efficiency of public spending requires political courage to prioritize technical evidence over partisan complacency or the easy applause of some taxpayers. Protecting citizens' resources, correcting course when the indicators do not hold up, and funding only what generates proven social returns are indispensable actions to safeguard fiscal health and the future of our democracy. A solid democracy rests on a functional division of labor: political narrative builds consensus on where we should go, while technical evaluation ensures that we spend our collective resources responsibly to get there. Felipe BalmacedaEconomistMore on:Public spendingFailed programsFiscal healthSolid democracyPopulism