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Think you could balance the federal budget? Play the game.

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Omaha Steve Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jun-12-10 03:42 PM
Original message
Think you could balance the federal budget? Play the game.

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/features/budget_hero/



Budget Hero is produced by American Public Media, the largest operator of public radio stations, also producing top programs reaching 15 million listeners weekly.
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izquierdista Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jun-12-10 04:04 PM
Response to Original message
1. Poor choice of cards to play
Like a pinochle deck -- no working class cards to play.
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Kaleva Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jun-12-10 04:14 PM
Response to Original message
2. I'm a Budget Hero.
Eliminating the Bush tax cuts and raising the gas tax 50 cents a gallon really helps.
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xjymnastjme Donating Member (20 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jun-12-10 04:32 PM
Response to Original message
3. COOL! but i wish we could control custom percentages & amounts cut/raised. NT
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Hydra Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jun-12-10 05:32 PM
Response to Original message
4. Not enough choices
There was a better simulator(text only) that really let you cut into the meat of it.

If I were in charge, you can bet the military budget per year would not be 1/2 a trillion dollars, for instance.
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rock Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jun-12-10 05:58 PM
Response to Original message
5. I need options
to stop the drug war and stop the real war (OK the permanent invasion)
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Warren DeMontague Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jun-12-10 06:37 PM
Response to Original message
6. Ridiculous. No matter what you do, you can't take more than a sliver off the Military.
Or, maybe that's not a mistake.

It should give you an error like, "Sorry, since Nov. 22, 1963, that option has been unavailable" :tinfoilhat:
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Greyhound Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jun-12-10 07:41 PM
Response to Original message
7. Could have been interesting if it wasn't completely skewed.
The State of MN created this game about6 or 7 years ago and allowed real choices, and you know what people learned? That it ain't hard to balance the budget when you can exercise options that hurt campaign donors but are good for people.
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Taitertots Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jun-12-10 07:57 PM
Response to Original message
8. They want you to think it would be hard
End the wars of aggression. Remove the capacity to launch wars of aggression.

Increase taxes on the top 10%. Increase taxes by a huge margin for everyone in the top 1%. Taxes on the rich that are so high that they need to limit their salaries because above a certain point they would make less money.

National universal single payer.
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HughMoran Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jun-12-10 07:58 PM
Response to Reply #8
9. Easy as pie
...in fantasyland.
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Taitertots Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jun-12-10 08:07 PM
Response to Reply #9
10. Easy as pie
If you are not a whore for special interests.

Tax the rich, end the military empire, and stop wasting money on corporate health services.
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HughMoran Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jun-12-10 08:11 PM
Response to Reply #10
11. OMG! We're being lead by whores!
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Taitertots Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jun-12-10 08:20 PM
Response to Reply #11
12. Do you like following insane economic policies?
What is your problem with ending wars of aggression, taxing concentrated wealth, and national health care.
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HughMoran Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jun-12-10 08:22 PM
Response to Reply #12
13. Wars are winding down, Bush tax cuts are expiring, HCR was passed and the clock is ticking
Not my problem if you don't like the implementation timeframe - it's getting done and that's a good thing.
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Taitertots Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jun-12-10 08:28 PM
Response to Reply #13
14. There is no end in sight for either war
We need to go pre-Reagan for the tax cuts to make a difference.

HCR is nothing but an insurance corporation handout, that is nothing remotely similar to Universal Single Payer.


All those policies are an insane perversion of the things I have listed.
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HughMoran Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jun-12-10 08:32 PM
Response to Reply #14
15. Return to #11
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Kaleva Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jun-12-10 08:34 PM
Response to Reply #12
16. Let us know when you accomplish all of that.
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Taitertots Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jun-12-10 08:37 PM
Response to Reply #16
17. Let me know when you actually want it to happen n/t
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Greyhound Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jun-12-10 08:45 PM
Response to Reply #8
18. No systemic changes allowed, so the real question becomes,
Edited on Sat Jun-12-10 08:47 PM by Greyhound
"Can you balance the budget without making any substantive changes that will hurt the super-rich?"

For example; if you cut the military budget 10% across the board, all the specific program cuts become unavailable. The military budget could be cut 10% by simply not maintaining stockpiles of obsolete ammunition and supplies. No mention of even the most heinous waste and abuses such as employing mercenaries.

Remember when PBS was public?

Edited for a double negative.
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