Government Budget Balancer¶

Run the Government Budget Balancer MicroSim Fullscreen
Edit in the p5.js Editor

About This MicroSim¶

This MicroSim lets you play the role of a government budget director, adjusting spending categories (Defense, Social Security, Medicare, Education, and Other) and revenue sources (Income Tax, Corporate Tax, and Payroll Tax) to try to balance the federal budget. The simulation displays stacked bar charts for spending and revenue side by side, with a real-time balance indicator showing whether your choices produce a surplus, deficit, or balanced budget. It demonstrates the fundamental tradeoffs policymakers face when allocating a roughly $6 trillion budget.

How to Use¶

Adjust Spending Sliders -- Use the sliders on the left side of the control area to increase or decrease the percentage allocated to each spending category (Defense, Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, Education/Infrastructure, and Other).
Adjust Revenue Sliders -- Use the sliders on the right side to change the percentage contribution from each revenue source (Income Tax, Corporate Tax, and Payroll Tax).
Watch the Balance Indicator -- Observe the balance bar and text at the bottom of the chart area. Green indicates a surplus, red indicates a deficit, and the display shows "BALANCED!" when revenue closely matches spending.
Press Reset -- Click the Reset button to return all sliders to their default values and start over.

Iframe Embed Code¶

You can add this MicroSim to any web page by adding this to your HTML:

<iframe src="https://dmccreary.github.io/economics-course/sims/budget-balancer/main.html"
        height="582px"
        width="100%"
        scrolling="no"></iframe>

Lesson Plan¶

Grade Level¶

9-12 (High School Economics)

Duration¶

10-15 minutes

Prerequisites¶

Basic understanding of government revenue and spending
Familiarity with percentages and proportions
Introduction to the concepts of budget deficits and surpluses

Activities¶

Exploration (5 min): Have students freely adjust the spending and revenue sliders to discover how different allocations affect the budget balance. Ask them to find at least one combination that produces a surplus and one that produces a deficit.
Guided Practice (5 min): Challenge students to balance the budget while keeping Social Security and Medicare at their current levels. Discuss which levers they had to pull and why certain categories have narrower ranges than others.
Assessment (5 min): Students write a brief paragraph explaining why balancing the federal budget involves difficult tradeoffs, using specific examples from their experience with the simulator.

Assessment¶

Can the student explain the difference between a budget surplus and a deficit?
Can the student identify at least two tradeoffs involved in balancing the budget?
Does the student understand that changing one budget category affects the overall balance?