That rumbling sound coming from the John A. Wilson Building is D.C. Council members tussling over recommended changes to Mayor Vincent Gray’s $12 billion 2014 budget. Committees have begun reducing expenditures or searching for additional funds to address select programs or satisfy demands of special-interest groups that could make their lives miserable during the upcoming election season.

In other words, the process doesn’t simply involve assessing the cost-effectiveness of policies and programs. Politics plays a role.