Why is a percentage a relevant measurement here? I think you would just want to measure budget compared YoY adjusted for inflation. The reason it doesn't make s

Why is a percentage a relevant measurement here? I think you would just want to measure budget compared YoY adjusted for inflation. The reason it doesn't make sense is that the US budget doesn't need to be balanced. It's not like spending a ton more on subsidies for something new (e.g. renewables/electric cars/healthcare) means that NASA lost money).