Penny poll budget exercise

Explore how you might choose to allocate the United State’s federal discretionary budget, online or in a group.

• Virtual penny poll (for individuals)
• Instructions sheet and penny poll worksheet (for groups)
• Follow the money: Understanding how much we spend on our military, by Alan Stucky

Background: The total federal budget for Fiscal Year 2012 is $3.8 trillion. Much of that goes to “mandatory” programs that are automatically budgeted such as Social Security and Medicare. The remaining amount is “discretionary” spending – spending which Congress decides each year. This is the budget you are determining with your penny votes.

Finally, a note about the federal deficit. Most years the U.S. government spends more than it takes in, creating a federal deficit. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, tax cuts, and a combination of reduced tax revenue and stimulus spending during the recession have greatly increased the deficit. Most attempts to cut the deficit have focused on non-military spending, rather than addressing military spending, mandatory programs such as Social Security or tax revenues.