The National Budget: Want to Play Along?

0 Comments10/12/11

A hot-button issue these days is the U.S. economy, specifically the nation’s budget and our growing deficit. In the U.S. Congress a fundamental reexamination is under way concerning the role of government in the economy versus the workings of the free market. The debate underscores two very different visions of our nation and its future. How can the country find balance? We’re going to put you in charge of the federal budget through a few simulations. Play along and see whether you can find a fix.

Maybe you have views on this issue. Is the U.S. government too big and expensive? If cuts have to be made, where? Defense? Entitlements like Social Security and Medicare? Social programs? Should the nation try to balance its budget by raising revenues in the form of taxes, especially on the rich? How much money makes a person “rich”? A million bucks? A half million? A quarter million?

As a way to get started in your exploration of this issue, check out Budget Explorer. This website offers a basic overview of national budgetary issues but also lets you estimate how much the government spends, for example, on defense, Social Security, the environment—then tells you whether you’re right or wrong.

Two websites let you practice what you preach about budgets by taking part in a computer simulation. National Budget Simulation gives you the choice between “The Short Version: If You Only Want to Worry about the Basics” and “The Long Version: Getting into the Nitty-Gritty Details.” Another site features a kind of video game called BudgetHero. At this site, you decide the nation’s budget priorities as they pertain to taxes, spending, government programs, health insurance, defense, the environment, and other matters. You’ll quickly find, however, that these decisions aren’t easy, and maybe playing along will renew your sympathy for legislators who can’t seem to find common ground.

Finally, you might go to the site Facing Up to the Nation’s Finances. There you will find documents, interactive games, videos, a webinar, and a list of other sources to consult. Try some of the interactive games, where you are put in charge of the national budget or a state budget—and you decide how billions of bucks are spent!

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