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Uncategorized Monday, November 15th 2010 at 4:40 pm

Think You’re Smart? Balance the National Budget

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If you like math puzzles, here’s one for you: The New York Times has put together an interactive puzzle wherein you can attempt to balance the national budget and keep the deficit from ballooning even further.

Today, you’re in charge of the nation’s finances. Some of your options have more short-term savings and some have more long-term savings. When you have closed the budget gaps for both 2015 and 2030, you are done. Make your own plan, then share it online.

If you want to play on Expert mode, consider that 1) As a politician, a lot of people and lobbies would be very, very angry if you tried to implement many of these changes (just try implementing a national sales tax) and 2) this is just the budget shortfall over the next five to twenty years; the total national debt is $13.723 trillion dollars.

>>>You fix the budget.

(NYT via FlowingData)

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  • Alan

    I just looked up annual retail sales $4.7 trillion dollars. Cut the deficit by 10% (or more with Simpson Bowles) a year reinstitute the pay as you go for new spending as during the Bush/ Clinton years vs 3% national sales tax ($130 billion) as the deficit drops so does the taxes til the deficit and the tax (both) disappear and or keep the sales tax to a few more years to reduce the national debt to zero.