Principles & Priorities: Introduction
The exercise begins by introducing students to its premise, as well as what concepts they should
keep in mind as they go through it:
C on gratu lation s. Y ou have just beco m e m em bers
of C ongress. Y ou’ve been assigned to special
co m m ittees charged w ith finding w ays to reduce the
projected federal deficits.
Y our co m m ittee’s responsibility is to exam ine a
variety of spending and tax options and decide
w hich options constitute the fairest and m ost
effective w ay to w o rk tow ard a balanced federal
budget.
P rinciples and P riorities
A s your group m akes decisions,
you need to consider three things:
• Econom ics – H ow w ill your decision affect the
econom y in the short term & long term ?
• Public Policy – W hat segm ent of the population –
taxpayers, seniors, students, etc. - w ins or loses by
your choices?
• Politics – Y ou m ust be able to explain to voters
w hy you decided as you did. C an you defend your
decisions? W ill you be re-elected? W ill your
supporters continue to support you?
The key for the professor of the class is to use this time to also set up the context in which the
exercise will fit within the class and its topics—whether that be budget policy, Congressional
decision-making, etc.
First Section: Sources and Uses of Federal Revenue
The first part of the exercise sets up some basic knowledge about the budget and where
the country gets and spends its money. Students are asked to distribute 100 points downward
across five revenue categories, based on how they believe the federal government received its
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Convention