Q-and-A Club > TAX-AND-SPEND GAME

Rules for the Tax-and-Spend Game

Learn how to play a game everyone should be required to play

We may not be policy "wonks" and we may not understand the complexity of local, state, and national budgets, but we have no qualms about asking our elected officials to bring us back a slice of the pie baked with our taxes. The question, in tough economic times like today, is this, How do we want the pie sliced? Do we want to order another pie and pay for it later?

If we want the government (that's you and me, folks) to plant trees to beautify the downtown area; to support our military; to repair bridges; to educate children; to train the unemployed; or to have available to us any of the services we cannot provide by ourselves, we will have to make some choices.

If we want to stop throwing our problems onto future generations, either we will have to cut down and/or eliminate some services — or be willing to pay more in taxes. We cannot continue to borrow our way into debt unless we want to forgo our children's future economic security.

The Tax-and-Spend Game asks you to make choices that would help your local, state and national representatives provide the services that are needed, and decrease those that aren't needed.

HOW MANY WAYS DOES THE GOVERNMENT GET OUR MONEY?

For purposes of this game, the term "taxes" refers to any of the many methods the government uses to fund programs by reaching directly or indirectly into our pockets.

The following are a few that I am aware of, but there are undoubtedly other ways the government manages to get money from us. For example, when a law is passed that gives preferential treatment to one industry rather than another, those who don't get the tax break have to pass on their costs to us in the form of higher prices. This is, essentially, a tax increase, although we don't speak of it in those terms.

ASSUMPTIONS OF THE TAX-AND-SPEND GAME

1. While there is undoubtedly waste in some government programs, there is a consensus in both major parties that eliminating waste will not, by itself, balance the budget.

2. There is also a consensus that if major programs are cut or eliminated, the private sector cannot, by itself, replace all those services.

3. Choosing to require an equal percentage of reduction in all government services postpones the necessary process of choosing priorities, for not all programs are of equal value to communities, states, and the nation. Therefore, you are not allowed to say you'll simply cut all programs a certain percentage.

4. Cuts in some programs would, undoubtedly, save more than cuts in other programs. However, with overlapping services on local, state, and national levels, it is almost impossible to show how a single reduction or elimination of services would financially impact all the other items in the budget. That is why the game side-steps that issue (I'll leave such complex formulas to organizations that have more resources and experience with statistics than I have). In fact, I have designed the game so that statistics are not as important as is the awareness of how difficult it can be to eliminate or decrease programs that people count on for help — without finding a way to fund them.

5. Although players will undoubtedly notice my bias against deficit spending, I have tried to prevent my own opinion on what government services I think should be reduced or increased to distort the way the game is played. But if you have an idea for how I can make the game absolutely bias-free, please let me know at Contact Us.

RULES FOR THE TAX-AND-SPEND GAME

1. Make difficult decisions.

Each person who plays the game is to assume he or she has been given the sole power to balance local, state and federal budgets and, at the same time, provide basic services and repay the national debt.

2. Explore all categories of government programs.

The programs government provides are arranged into eleven categories to make it easier to evaluate which ones you would keep, cut, or eliminate. I recommend you explore one category at a time.

3. Examine each program carefully.

As you consider each government program, answer the following questions, with particular emphasis on the "why" and "how" that supports your answer.

Have I or my friends benefited from this government program? How?

In what way does this service benefit society as a whole even if I, or my family and friends, are not personally affected by the program?

Do I believe government should fund this program? If so, how?

If I am currently participating or benefiting from this program, would I be willing to have it eliminated (or severely curtailed) in order to balance the budget? In other words, would I be willing to make do without the support of this program?

Could the services of this program be easily provided by the private sector? If so, how?

How would I suggest the program be funded? Why? See How Does the Government Get Our Money?

4. Determine the level of spending you want for each  program.

You must give one of the following answers for each item:

Should local, state, and/or national budgets maintain current spending levels for this item? Why?

Would you decrease spending on this program? Why?

Would you increase spending on this program? Why?

Would you eliminate spending on this program? Why?

HOW TO WIN THE TAX-AND-SPEND GAME

In the real world, where elected officials make decisions about the budget all the time, we would consider our government (us) a winner if it could balance the budget by reducing and eliminating programs without raising taxes. The government would also be a winner if it didn't cut any programs but was willing to raise taxes so that our grandchildren would not have to pay our debts.

Therefore, in the Tax-and-Spend game you will "win" AFTER you have looked at all eleven categories and have achieved the following:

You have reduced two programs from which you currently benefit — or have been willing to increase taxes

You have reduced at least ten programs significantly or eliminated five programs entirely — or have been willing to increase taxes

If you chose to increase spending for any program, you must have reduced spending on four additional programs or eliminated spending on two additional programs — or been willing to increase taxes.

As you can see, you won't know how well you played the game until you come to the end of all the categories. You may, of course, make all your cuts in one category, although that would make it hard to convince others that you were willing to take their interests into account.

ENJOY PLAYING THE TAX-AND-SPEND GAME WITH OTHERS

I recommend you print out a category of the game and take it with you the next time you go to lunch with a friend. It is sure to create conversation that will be informative for both of you.

In fact, you might give yourself "points" by sharing the game with family and friends. The points will buy you the satisfaction that you are willing to make tough choices in balancing the budget, even if that means you will not receive some services. It also means you understand there is no free lunch. All government services come with a price tag. The question is, what price are you willing to pay for what services?

When you have finished all the sections of the Tax-and-Spend Game, contact your elected officials (and the candidates running for office) and tell them that you realize how difficult it is to make choices for budgets that must meet the interests of many different constituencies. And, most important, tell them what services you would like to see increased, decreased, or eliminated and how you would like the budget to be balanced without burdening our children and grandchildren (that is, unless you favor borrowing against the future).

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