Download Federal Budget Politics: the Art of the Compromise

Federal Budget Politics:
the Art of the Compromise During
Times of Record Debt
Pamela Roach
North Cobb High School
http://cobblearning.net/proach/
conference-presentations/
[email protected]
Background
• Budget simulations for US Government &
economics – set up with GCEE & Federal Reserve
materials!!! Evening at the Fed!
• Blog: debt clock, unemployment indicators,
inflation, bus cycle, housing crisis, mandatory
spending.
• In the past, online simulations oversimplified
process… possible citizenship problem
– Teams differentiated by ideology.
• Inspiration: KSU Fiscal Sanity Tour
• Gang of Six
Congressional Simulation
Students requested committee assignments;
used Nathan Newman’s as a guide
• Military
• Social Security
• Health
• Agriculture
• Science
• Justice
• Transportation & Development
I.O.U.S.A.
• One Nation, Under Stress, In Debt
Congressional Simulation
• Invited Senator Chambliss to school,
• Charlie Harman, chief of staff spoke
– Gang of six
– Tea party impact
– Budget process
– Career options
House and Senate
• Leaders elected by each house, seating by
committee and by house
• Researched & developed proposals for
balancing the budget
– identify cuts/increases
– Who is helped/hurt
– Likely positive & negative externalities
• Presented proposals to whole Congress
although each house voted independently
• Leaders chaired
• Amendments
• Conference Committee
Online Budget Simulations
• Summative: Students chose partners and
balanced the budget. Ideology
– Nathan Newman
– New York Times
– Budget Hero
– Concord Coalition
For the Future
• Teach background & use I.O.U.S.A.
• Research Assignment on committee topics
beforehand: Policy Analysis
• Google docs for development of budget
proposals by each committee (private)
• Post budget proposals
• Blogging for whole class to discuss beforehand
• Edit budget proposals
• Then, debate in class…
Resources
• http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/thomas#
• http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb
Budget Simulations
• http://marketplace.publicradio.org/features/b
udget_hero/
• http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/11
/13/weekinreview/deficits-graphic.html
• http://www.nathannewman.org/nbs/shortdef.
html#Military
• here for the Concord Coalition's simulation.
• http://congress.indiana.edu/e-learningmodule-federal-budget-allocation