Now that you have a clear understanding of how the President and Congress must work together to determine how to balance the budget, it’s your turn! You have been placed on a special task force by the federal government to help balance the budget. Once you are finished your task is to write a brief statement for a press conference (250 words) in which you state decisions that you made and why you think these are the best decisions for the entire country.
Task One: Balance the Budget
In order to balance the budget, you will play this simulation (Links to an external site.) to decide how to spend the nation’s money. Record your revenues and expenditures on the Module Two Lesson Three Activity Handout (Links to an external site.)
Task Two: Writing your Press Conference
Your next task is to write a 250 word statement for a press conference stating your position on the budget. When writing your press conference you will answer the following questions.
Did you choose to cut any programs? If so, which programs did you cut? Why were these the programs you chose to cut and how will these cuts impact specific groups of people? These groups of people may include, the poor, students, or the elderly.
Did you choose to provide more funding for any programs? Why did you choose to give more money to these specific programs? Why were other programs left out? Which groups of people will benefit from the programs you chose to fund? These groups of people may include, the poor, students, or the elderly.
Do you believe that tackling the deficit is an important issue? Why or why not?
