Balance the Budget Yourself!

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Ever wanted to know what it would be like to craft fiscal policy, allocate billions in tax revenue, or balance your very own federal budget?

On Wednesday, American Public Media’s Public Insight Network (PIN) launched a newly updated version of their “Budget Hero” game, which allows participants to envision their ideal federal budget. The game, based on data from the Congressional Budget Office, begins “10 years from now to show what would happen if current [economic] policy were to continue on, unchanged.”

Players start by selecting “badges” most compatible with their political views, ranging from “Tea Party” to “Energy Independence.”

Click on the icon below to launch the widget in a pop-up window:

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We were built for times like these

Russian bots are impersonating us. Trump and his allies want to silence us. AI wants to (and does!) steal our content. The list goes on. But with 50 years of experience, we know we were built for this moment: We’re ready to keep diving deep and uncovering the truth, then getting that to you right here, completely accessible and never behind a paywall.

While our work is free to read, watch, and listen to online, it’s incredibly costly to make. Court documents, travel, research: It all adds up. Because we’re a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on reader support to fund our investigations. Will you stand with us in these extraordinary times, as headlines clamour for our attention and disinformation is rampant? We can’t get the truth out without you.

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