Part 1 – Create Your Budget

To create your budget, you must use the website: http://crfb.org/stabilizethedebt/

Once you are at http://crfb.org/stabilizethedebt/ and ready to begin click the “next” button.

Begin to make your budget selections by selecting various check boxes. Click the “i” icon next to each line item if you want more information about any particular budget line item.

Once you have sufficiently addressed each of the specific budget line items and arrived at the tab labeled “results,” right click the link labeled: “Save PDF,” download the file, and submit this final PDF file along with your text for the following essay.

*Do not forget to also submit your essay. You can upload multiple files in a single assignment submission. If you need help with this please contact your student advisor or instructor.

**It is strongly recommended that you use the Chrome or Firefox web browserfor this activity.  If you are having trouble getting your final results todisplay or are having difficulty exporting your final results as a PDFfile, please try the following steps:
(1)    Use the Chrome or Firefox web browser.
(2)    Take and upload screen shots of your budget selections to blackboardalong with your essay for this assignment.
(3)    Contact your instructor to make alternative arrangements.

Part 2 – Federal Budget Activity Reflection Essay

In at least 500 words answer the following questions:

• Provide a justification of the budget choices you made within one of the following categories: Defense, Domestic, Social Security, Healthcare (you may NOT choose to focus on the categories labeled: “Budget Path,” “Other,” “Revenue,” or “Tax Expenditures”). In this defense you must address possible counter arguments to the budget decisions you made. If you are spending more under this category how are you going to get new revenue or gain public support for more deficit spending? If you are cutting funds – what are you going to do with these surplus funds?
• Discuss how this assignment impacted your understanding of the budget process, and the debates between the parties and within Congress have regarding the federal budget? Do you think anything should be done to streamline the current budget process?
• Discuss how difficult this would have been to do this activity as a group project – what budget issues would have been contentious? How could you have come to a compromise?