The Presidential debates feature a wide-ranging discussion on the macroeconomy. Among the topics under consideration by aspiring candidates are: investment in infrastructure, efforts to raise workers' wages, universal health care, education at all levels (pre-school through college), military spending; and the impact of all of these spending aspirations on the Federal budget.

Based on you study so far - including your analysis of the Federal budget - how would the economist look at these issues and what sort of tradeoffs would be seen between the legitimate desire to improve the welfare of all Americans and the equally legitimate concern about the impact of this spending on the Federal budget?