Be a Budget Hero! Play the game and discuss your federal budget.

sounds interesting

The annoying thing about this is in one hour I actually got the country a surplus instead of a debt, raised taxes on the wealthy and corporations and lightening the load on the backs of the poor. It just goes to show you balancing the budget isn't rocket science if candidates explained the ramifications for certain choices and stopped being unduly influenced by corporate lobbyists this country could once again strive to be a more perfect union for everyone. The wealthy gives up a few wants to meet a few needs of the masses.

Very cool concept.. I hope there are lots more versions.

There aren't enough options to cut... how about axing all of "homeland" "security"? TSA? closing military bases abroad? allowing anyone to opt out of the social security scam? ending ALL business subsidies of any size, shape or flavor? replacing the IRS with something simple and efficient?

It's very hard to look at the budget this way, as the entire thing is just bad ideas built on top of failure built on top of pandering and vote mongering.

Three things I advocated... 1) adopt the FairTax which would eliminate the $600 billion in costs associated with tax documentation and management... 2) adopt a phased in Chilian Social Security paradigm which wheans us off of having to fund social security benefits for future generations of retirement beneficiaries... 3) "Privatize" the National Debt, moving that interest expense out of the federal budget and into the private sector by selling off federal assets.

Without having to raise taxes on anyone, we'd have an instant budget surplus enough to allow us to lower the FairTax down from 23% to around 18% and create the greated economic tax haven on the planet!

Ahh, raising taxes for the rich is so much fun!
The "Cons" section for each card was right in the center of my field of vision; my eyes naturally drifted right to reading the Cons every time, which may have been why I ended up being such a tax-buster. That was surprising!
Since surplus and %debt were the two biggest markers of "progress", my goal very quickly became maximizing surplus and minimizing debt. As a result, I felt like some sort of hybrid socialist-fiscal-conservative. Do they make those?
I felt a little bad that I was so interested in cutting Social Security and health care, but the sight of those bulging budget-buildings was so tempting!

Zac - I focused on the cons, too. Like you, I wasn't really interested in cutting some things but in my own life I hate to owe - and so was determined to reduce the deficit. I think I did a good job (see my article here) but one man's trash is another man's treasure...

Chad - it seemed "easy" to me, too, but we don't have people pleading their cases and causes to us all day long. Plus, we didn't have to get a consensus - people's priorities are so different. However, it was great fun and an excellent lesson besides.

I balanced the budget to 2070+ and got badges in environment, green, and health and wellness - woo!

This is a really neat idea. I was able to balance 2070+ and got green health and safety badges. However, I don't think it would be possible in real life. Everyone would be upset if you repealed Bush's tax cuts. Lobbyist would never allow the tax on toxic industries, tobacco tax, hedge managers, or cap on greenhouse gas.

Too bad. But definitely a fun game!

Ah, yes: the Fair Tax flat-tax initiative. I think we should not only apply it immediately but take it a step further...

A truly fair tax system cannot tax some persons one amount while others only have to pay a pittance in comparison. Would you want to pay more in taxes than your fellow citizen? Of course not!

That is why the ONLY fair way to restructure the tax system would be to have a flat dollar amount that EVERYONE is required to pay each year. In fact, along with the privatization of prisons (including debtors prisons), upstanding citizens would finally be able to maximize their income potential without the doldrums of society dragging them down.

Of course, I am only joking. But, isn't this argument just the logical extension of the "Fair Tax" initiative?

In fact, I think that we could solve the paradox posed by Jeremy F. by cutting corporate taxes to 0% and massively raising taxes (on a sliding scale, aka the "unfair to the rich" initiative) for $250k+ households. As long as our tax law guarded against loopholes pertaining to work/residency issues we would retain the companies that employ the fat-cats, keeping our economy strong while taxing the rich as they should be.

Corporations are not citizens and one of our greatest mistakes is treating them as such.

Budget Hero is like a taste of what the federal government goes through and it puts all that stress on us, as we have to decide what to do in order to balance the budget of our government. as i started playing, i scroll through many of the available options and made the best decisions i could. the year i hit bust was 2046 lol. good thing im not interested in politics, or i would end up like another bush to this nation.