Analyzing the Federal Budget
I have you reading a variety of publications that look at the Federal budget. I suggest that as you read each piece, you take notes when you are done. Think in terms of about half to a full page of notes and then when you are completely done, you can use those notes to be able to write your essay. Since these pieces address different aspects of the Federal budget think in terms of the following:
1) Trends. Here is where different pieces suggest how to look at revenue growth or spending growth in the future based on past history. When referring to the word "future" usually you think in terms of the short-term versus long-term. Exactly where the dividing is between these is unclear but as a safe bet probably the short-term is the next five years, the long-term might be a decade from now. So, what trends are being addressed and why?
2) The big outlays that are on the horizon. Obviously, health care and retirement costs are always front and center, but what about them will cost money. As you go through the readings you want to try to get a handle on what might be controllable from what appears to be more difficult to control.
3) Where the money comes from. I gave you various readings addressing revenue from different sources (income tax, Social Security Trust Fund, payroll tax, capital gains tax, for example). You may want to think in terms of the strengths and weaknesses of these different revenue sources. What can we expect from the income tax as a source of government revenue in the future and why? The capital gains tax as a percentage of total revenue collected and whether it can significantly matter or not and why. The pressures placed on the Social Security Trust Fund and what that means to it contributing to financing the government.