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Casebook Read Credits
Federal Budget Policy (January 2018)
Section 2 . 1
28 minutes + 3 links

Class One -- Tuesday, January 2nd, 2018

Howell E. Jackson

We will begin our first class with a discussion of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget's "Fix the Debt" exercise, an interactive game in which players try to make policy choices to reduce the country's debt levels in the future. Before you start the exercise, read over the Congressional Budget Office's June 2017 Update to get a quick overview of the major elements of the federal budget, focusing on the Budget Outlook (through page 8 and associated tables.) Please do the CFRB's exercise yourself; print out your solution, and be ready to discuss and defend your plan in class.

You should also skim the version of the U.S. Constitution, which has been edited town to highlight the provisions related to fiscal policy.

Background readings (optional): Excerpts from Aaron Widavsky's 1964 classic, "The Politics of the Budget Process," are included for reference as an illustration of the budget process prior to the 1970s.

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