Assignment:
National Budget Simulation Worksheet
Directions: Answer the questions below. Submit this document through the appropriate link in session 10. Your completed assignment should be at least 250 words in length.
1. How will the program cuts that you made affect specific groups (the elderly, students, environmentalists, savers, the poor, foreign aid recipients, producers, etc.)?
2. What programs did you choose to cut? Why did you choose those programs over others?
3. Would other cuts have had less impact on people's lives? Which budget cuts had the largest impact on reducing the deficit?
4. Which decisions might be perceived as politically motivated?
5. What are the tradeoffs of preserving some programs while protecting others?
6. How do your decisions result in the marginal benefit to society outweighing the marginal cost to society?
7. If you had the opportunity to raise taxes rather than cut programs, which policy would you choose?
The above link will take you to a simulation of fiscal policy and the national budget in which you are the economic advisor to the President of the United States. Follow the link and read the instructions for the simulation.
You can launch the simulation by clicking on this link: CEE National Budget Simulation.