Answer -

Scenario 1: The government is currently spending three billion, one hundred million on programs and brings in three billion, five hundred million through taxation.

1. Does this make a budget surplus or deficit? Explain.
2. As a member of Congress, what changes would you suggest to fiscal policy to balance the budget? Explain at least two ways you would use the tools of fiscal policy to balance the budget by recommending an "increase" or "decrease" to each tool in your explanation.
3. What are the benefits and opportunity costs of the changes you propose? Consider the impact on economic growth, price stability, and unemployment.

Scenario 2: The government is currently spending three billion, seven hundred million on programs and brings in two billion, nine hundred million through taxation. In addition, the nation has experienced a period of rising unemployment.

1. Does this maje a budget surplus or deficit? Explain.
2. As a member of Congress, what changes would you suggest to fiscal policy to balance the budget? Explain at least two ways you would use the tools of fiscal policy to balance the budget by recommending an "increase" or "decrease" to each tool in your explanation.
3. What are the benefits and opportunity costs of the changes you propose? Consider the impact on economic growth, price stability, and unemployment.
4. How might your efforts to balance the budget conflict with efforts to decrease unemployment, if at all?

Scenario 3: The nation is currently experiencing a period of rising prices. Inflation is making consumer goods increasingly difficult to afford as wages have remained constant.

1. As a member of Congress, what changes would you suggest to fiscal policy to balance the budget and indirectly address inflation? Suggest at least two specific changes to revenue and expenditures.
2. What are the benefits and opportunity costs of the changes you propose? Consider the impact on economic growth, price stability, and unemployment.
3. Are the proposed policies contractionary or expansionary? Explain.