| Unit 6: National Policy! |
| Time for us to get a flavor for how easy(?) it is to create sound budgetary policy. To do this, do the following: 1) Get in 10 groups--at least one of you or 3 maximum per group. You'll all need a laptop from the COW. 2) Take a look at the current national budget data found at the White House Office of Management and Budget. Get a feel for the kind of money we're taking in and spending at the moment. 3) Compare that data with what's at this set of budget tables and projections, researched by the Heritage Foundation. Look at them all. 4) The Brookings Institute has a series of budget policy proposals as well. Read these, to get a flavor for the types of reforms they advocate. 5) Take a look at what President-Elect Obama wants to do in terms of the economy, here. This should get you a feel for what the incoming administration wants to do in terms of spending. 6) After you've done 1-5, pair up and decide what the BEST national budget should generally look like. On a sheet of paper (or in a Word--or some such--document), titled "The Ideal Budget," write a half-to-one-page summary of your group's findings, citing data from any of the abovementioned sites you consulted. 7) Once you've turned in your summary, play "Budget Hero," go through the briefing if you need to, and play the game. Play it until you've earned the three badges you selected at the beginning. NOW, IT'S TIME FOR ALL OF US TO PUT OUR HEADS TOGETHER AND DECIDE WHAT THE BEST BUDGET IS FOR THE NATION . . . 8) Once you've earned your badges, decide as a group which of the budget categories you want to have control over and let me know. 9) Once everyone's selected a budget category, we'll play the game together until we have the best possible budget. Consensus (or vote, if consensus fails) will determine the badges we play for. Each turn will consist of 4 phases: -Phase 1: Discuss the Budget, and what everyone should do (5-10 minutes MAX) -Phase 2: Come up to my laptop and play the cards you want to play -Phase 3: We'll review the results together, by clicking "See How Your Budget Stacks Up" -Phase 4: Consensus decision: Did we make the best possible budget? If not, we'll play another turn. 10) Once we've gotten our best possible budget, we'll play for points. -We'll play the game again as a class, only this time follow the instructions I wrote on your "The Ideal Budget" papers. -You'll earn the point bonuses or penalties listed in your group's instructions if you achieve them (and keep them achieved) by the end of the game. -This game will consist of FIVE TURNS MAXIMUM, or until consensus is reached that we have the best possible budget. I'm stoked. Can't wait to see you all in action :) Oh, by the way, here's a list of all the cards each budget category has to play. Use it for whatever purposes you might have :D MORE RESOURCES TO CONSIDER AS WE GO: -Here's a great small version of a bigger movie, called "IOUSA". Good insights lie therein about the national debt. WATCH IT BEFORE TUESDAY! |