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Penny Game 2007 Edition

Players will work in teams of 4 – 5 players per team.

Objective: To learn how much the federal government collected in revenues and borrowed in fiscal year 2007 and how those funds were spent. (FY 2007: 10/1/06 – 9/30/07.)

• Income Board
• 2007 Income Answer Sheet
• Spending Board
• 2007 Spending Answer Sheet

Preparation:

1. Make copies of Income and Spending Boards using cardstock or colored paper.
2. Prepare a bag of 100 pennies or beans for each team. Each bag should contain 94 white beans and 6 red beans. If using pennies, leave 94 pennies bare and cover 6 pennies with red tape.

Explanation: When using the Income Boards, each bean/penny represents almost $27 billion or 1% of the 2007 federal government taxes collected and money borrowed. Figures will not be exact due to rounding. There are 94 white beans/pennies and 6 of another color because the government collected 6% less than it spent in FY2007. The income figures are represented as a percentage of outlays. FY2007 income was 94% of outlays, which is another way of saying we had an 6% deficit

Give each team a Penny Bag and an Income Board. Ask teams to distribute the 94 pennies onto the 4 tax squares of the Income Board according to where students think the taxes came from. When completed, give the correct answers as shown on the chart.

Explanation: When using the Spending Boards, each penny represents 1% or approximately $27 billion of federal spending. See the additional sheet for more details about programs that are included in each category.

Distribute the Spending Boards. Using all 100 pennies, each one representing 1% of the budget or $27 billion, have teams distribute pennies among the 9 spending categories according to where they think the government spent the money in 2007. Give the answers and have them move correct amounts onto the squares so they can visualize the comparisons.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• Health includes Medicare, Medicaid, safety/health inspections, and veterans health programs.
• Income Security includes unemployment compensation, housing assistance, food stamps, nutrition programs, general retirement and disability insurance, (excluding Social Security), and other income security programs.
• Education counts all Department of Education outlays; and job training, employment and social services. Keep in mind that most education spending is from the state and local level, not from the federal government.
• International Affairs (was called foreign aid) includes development and humanitarian assistance, international security assistance, conducting foreign affairs, foreign information and exchange programs and international financial programs.
• Other includes homeland security; science, space and technology; National Institutes of Health; energy; agriculture; commerce and housing credits; health-related research support; postal service; deposit insurance; transportation; community/regional development and disaster relief; veterans benefits and services (except health benefits); justice and general government.
• Actual figures may not add up, precisely, due to rounding.

DEFICIT: The FY2007 deficit was $163 billion. The 94 white beans or bare pennies represent the amount of federal taxes collected and spent in FY2007. The 6 red beans or covered pennies represent an additional amount the federal government borrowed and spent in FY2007.

TIPS: Make boards and answer sheets into overheads for use with large groups. Try this game at a meeting or have your students lead it in other classrooms.

For current information on budget related issues, visit Concord's website at: www.concordcoalition.org.

The Concord Coalition
1011 Arlington Blvd., Suite 300
Arlington VA 22209-2200
(703) 894-6222

Copyright 2005
Concord Coalition
1011 Arlington Blvd.
Suite 300
Arlington, VA 22209
703-894-6222