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Last week we held a special event to launch the new version of Federal Balancing Act, an interactive simulation of the US budget. It featured a guided tour by Shai Akabas, Economic Policy Director at Bipartisan Policy Center.
We've worked with BPC since 2016 to provide this free, accessible tool used by hundreds of thousands of people. This new version features some of our latest features designed to let users understand what is in the budget and to experience the tough tradeoffs policy makers must make. You can watch the entire session here. Shai's presentation starts at minute 5:14, and the interactive portion using Meeting Mode at 23:00.
This year's simulation is introduced by two former Congressional budget committee chairs, former Governor John Kasich and former Senator Kent Conrad. To hear why they think everyone should learn about and provide input on the budget watch their video. |
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“The enormous federal spending in response to COVID-19 helped millions of Americans, but it has raised the national debt to unprecedented levels,” said Kasich. “Once the crisis passes, we need to get serious about stabilizing our budget.” |
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“In just a few decades, for every dollar we collect in taxes, we’ll spend 40 cents paying off the interest on old debt,” said Conrad. “These interest payments consume money that could be spent on education, health care, or national defense.” |
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The same technology that powers the federal budget simulation is in use by over a hundred cities, counties and school districts. If you'd like to learn more about this award-winning tool click below for a free consultation. | |
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"Why not simply engage the public ad hoc when a particularly controversial issue arises? Perhaps the most compelling answer is that high-quality public engagement is not easy, so making engagement a habit will allow best practices in public engagement to become second nature to a local government... Making public engagement an institution can remove much of the difficulty that arises if the public is only engaged at irregular intervals and with inconsistent methods." Source: Financial Foundations for Thriving Communities, by Shayne Kavanaugh and Vincent Reitano, 2019, published by the Government Finance Officers Association. | |
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Our mailing address is: 2840 Fiarfax St. Suite 200 Denver, CO 80207 |
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