How Would You Balance the Federal Budget?

A Principles and Priorities Exercise

Thursday, 31 Jan 2019 at 6:30 pm – Sun Room, Memorial Union

Understand the complexities of balancing the federal budget and the difficult policy choices lawmakers face in this interactive workshop led by staff from the non-partisan Concord Coalition. This 2-hour event kicks off with a short overview of federal spending, followed by the 90-minute Principles and Priorities exercise. Working in small groups, participants will review current federal spending priorities, tax policy and entitlement reform options and apply their own principles and negotiating skills to put forward a consensus-based deficit reduction plan. It’s an eye-opening experience designed to educate voters on the political will and compromise required to address our spiraling national debt.

David Oman, Senior Advisor to the Concord Coalition and former Chief of Staff for Governors Robert Ray and Terry Branstad, will facilitate the workshop. The Concord Coalition is a bipartisan national organization that for 25 years has worked to encourage a balanced federal budget.

Participants are asked to attend the entire 2-hour event.

Cosponsored By:
  • Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics
  • Economics
  • Ivy College of Business
  • Osher Lifelong Learning Institute - OLLI
  • Political Science
  • Committee on Lectures (funded by Student Government)
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Sign-ins after Event

Stay for the entire event, including the brief question-and-answer session that follows the formal presentation. Most events run 75 minutes.

Sign-ins are after the event concludes. For lectures in the Memorial Union, go to the information desk in the Main Lounge. In other academic buildings, look for signage outside the auditorium.

Lecture Etiquette

  • Stay for the entire lecture and the brief audience Q&A. If a student needs to leave early, he or she should sit near the back and exit discreetly.
  • Do not bring food or uncovered drinks into the lecture.
  • Check with Lectures staff before taking photographs or recording any portion of the event. There are often restrictions. Cell phones, tablets and laptops may be used to take notes or for class assignments.
  • Keep questions or comments brief and concise to allow as many as possible.