Exercise 1 Go to the U.S. National Debt Clock website at https://www.usdebtclock.org/ and explore the data presented on the opening web page. What is the current federal debt at the time you viewed the clock? What is the federal debt per taxpayer? What is the U.S. trade deficit with China? Next, go to the website of U.S. federal debt timeline at https://www.debt.org/faqs/united-states-federal-debt-timeline/ What is the average debt in trillions of dollars for the presidencies beginning with President Reagan and ending with President Trump? Made a summary about what you think this data means to the U.S.'s ability to sustain its historical spending habits. Exercise 1a Recently, the huge amount of federal debt, influenced in large part by federal stimulus funding program such as the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan Act (covered later in the course), and a long history of debt even without the effects of a pandemic, has brought federal debt to the forefront of political concerns of most Americans. Let's explore what you think about federal debt. Is having such a large federal debt really a bad thing? If the U.S. has been in debt since the end of the Civil War, why do you think it has become such an important issue now? If you think the debt is worrisome, what do you think should be done about it? Propose at least two solutions. Budget Deficit Simulation Because the concern over budget deficits has grown so much lately, it is relevant to introduce students to the idea of deficits and offer opportunities to make choices that might reduce or eliminate deficits and perhaps one day achieve a balanced budget