Name

The Federal Budget & the National Debt

WEB QUEST

Directions: Click on each of the links and briefly explain what information is available on each. http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/?18,16 http://www.usdebtclock.org/ http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/faq.html http://zfacts.com/p/318.html http://congress.indiana.edu/interactive-learning-modules (federal budget allocation activity) http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BUDGET-2002-CITIZENSGUIDE/pdf/BUDGET-2002-CITIZENSGUIDE.pdf http://www.davemanuel.com/history-of-deficits-and-surpluses-in-the-united-states.php

Questions 1. What is our current federal debt?

2. How much is the federal debt increasing per second? ____ Per day? ____

3. How much is each citizen’s share of the federal debt?

4. What is the debt in the state of Kansas? ____ How much does each Kansas citizen owe towards the state debt? _____ What is the state of KS’s debt to GDP ratio? ____ is this better or worse than the US debt to GDP ratio? _____

5. What are the biggest holders of our national debt?

6. What is the federal debt to GDP ratio?

7. How does the US debt to GDP ratio compare to other countries?

8. How has federal debt increased after adjusting for inflation?

9. Go to: http://congress.indiana.edu/interactive-learning-modules Click on: Federal Budget Allocation Activity and complete the simulation. How did you do?

Go To: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BUDGET-2002-CITIZENSGUIDE/pdf/BUDGET-2002-CITIZENSGUIDE.pdf Read "A Note to the Reader". Go to "Where the Money Comes from and Where it Goes". It says Federal Government plans its budget like families do. Summarize this statement on the lines below. ______10) See pie chart 2-3 "The Federal Dollar - Where it comes from" - Where does the federal government get most of its revenue? ______- What is the second highest source of government revenue? ______- What is the third highest source of government revenue? ______- Where else does the government get its revenue? ______

11) See table 2-1 "Total Revenues by Source - Summary" - What is the total amount of revenue the federal government took in, 2002? __

12) Scroll down to "Spending" - What is the total amount the government will spend, 2002? ______- What is the amount of surplus or deficit in 2002? ______

13) Scroll down to pie chart 2-7 "How Your Tax Dollar is Used" - What is the highest category of federal government spending? ______- What is the second highest category of federal government spending? ______- How much goes toward interest on the debt? ______

14) How much did the federal government spend in each of the following categories in the year 2002? Discretionary Spending 1) Department of Defense _____ 11) Dept of Interior _____ 2) Department of Justice ______12) Dept of State _____ 3) Department of Agriculture ___ 13) Dept of Treasury_____ 4) Department of Commerce _____ 14) Dept of Veterans Affairs 5) Department of Education _____ 6) Dept of Health and Human Services _____ Mandatory Spending 7) Department of Transportation _____ 16) Social Security ______8) Department of Urban Development _____ 17) Medicaid ______9) Department of Labor _____ 18) Interest on Debt _____ 10) Department of Energy _____ 19) Other mandatory ____

15) In which years did the US Government have a deficit (within the last 30 years)? In which years did the US Government have a surplus (within the last 30 year)?