Fun with debt ceilings. Budget Game- Budget Hero 2.0

[chill_wind]

Eric Mack at Cnet:

Budget Hero 2.0: Fun with debt ceilings!

Budget Hero uses data from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, which keeps track of the budget and makes predictions about the impact of all sorts of proposed policies. This allows the game to get pretty wonky very quickly, with options to "extend the Bush tax cuts" and link that amount to inflation right off the bat. It's almost as confusing as calculating hit points, for all you old-school D&Ders out there.

(snip)

Having already sold my values short and taken away some of my own mother's monthly income, I had to give up and start writing this post to help balance my own budget. Let me know if you had any more success, and if you were able to do it without converting all interstates back to wagon trails.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20079820-1/budget-hero-2.0-fun-with-debt-ceilings/#ixzz1T85llSgz

Flash game link:

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/features/budget_hero/




ETA-- no implication intended here that there is anything Fun or Funny about the current debt ceiling debate. Just an interesting exercise (that creators hoped might have some general educational value.)

[Richardo]

1. There's no provision for eliminating the contribution cap for SS

That's a big one.

[denverbill]

2. There's a LOT of options 'off the table' in that game.

Eliminating the cap on SS wages, raising the highest marginal tax rate, raising taxes on capital gains and dividends, changing the way corporations are allowed to offshore their profits, etc.

Most of those changes would bring in FAR more than enough revenue to balance the budget.