CCER National Budget Simulation

Welcome to the National Budget Simulation!

This simple simulation should give you a better feel of the trade-offs which citizens and policy makers will need to make to balance the budget.

The National Budget Simulation is a project of UC-Berkeley's Center for Community Economic Research. You may also want to check out the Center's Web site, the Economic Democracy Information Network which has a whole array of information on economic and policy issues.

This simulation asks you to cut the current 1995 fiscal budget in order to achieve a balanced budget. In order to make the choices we face in the budget clearer, we assume that you make the cuts all in one year.

Why this simulation uses a one-year budget cut rather than projections over a number of years.

How to play the game.

What categories of spending are used in this simulation?

Why tax expenditures are treated like general spending in this simulation.

Playing the Game

The Short Version: If You Only Want to Worry About the Basics
The Long Version: Getting into the Nitty-Gritty Details

Sources of Information on the Federal Budget

Analysis of the Budget

President Clinton's Citizens's Guide to the Federal Budget. which is part of the overall budget details presented for the Fiscal Budget FY96.
The Zero Deficit Reduction Plan and Twelve Myths about Entitlements.
Dollars and Sense magazine has analyzed how we got the deficit in the first place and has raised the question Should we balance the budget?

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