Think YOU Can Balance Our State’s Budget?
Today, Gov. Schwarzenegger released his revised budget proposal. Don’t like the proposed cuts? Now you can balance the budget yourself.
The SF Chronicle recently featured the California Budget Challenge, an online game that allows users to attempt to balance the state’s $85 billion budget. Are you hoping California will allocate more funding for kids and families? More money for schools, parks, or health programs? Here’s your chance to spend as you please, but be wary – the Challenge also asks you to decide how you would pay for your dream version of the state budget.
The Challenge, created by the nonpartisan organization Next 10, allows users to build a state budget based on individual “values and vision,” but it also serves to educate voters about the numerous policy choices our legislators must make. For each major budget decision (prison cuts, increases in per pupil spending, gas taxes, etc.), the Challenge offers background information, as well as the arguments for and against each cut or expenditure. After each decision you make, you also can see how fellow Californians chose from the many budget options. Next 10 also offers several other resources to educate the public about the budget process in California, such as the handy 7 facts about the state budget.
To access the California Budget Challenge and other resources, visit their website at http://www.next10.org/next10/programs/budget_challenge.html#.
Tags: Child Health Initiatives, Data Projects
Posted by Jordan Handcox
This entry was posted on Friday, May 14th, 2010 at 12:27 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.