Ohio University

Budget Hero game will allow public to debate federal budget

Oct 8, 2012
From staff reports

Everyone is invited to come see how long it takes for their budget to go bust during the "serious game" Budget Hero: Election Edition from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 11, in Bentley Hall 227.

Public opinion polls consistently show Americans ranking the federal budget deficit as one of the most important issues in the coming election.

Created by the Woodrow Wilson Center's Serious Games Initiative with data from the Congressional Budget Office and a wide variety of other vetted sources, the online game serves as a nonpartisan tool for engaging the American public in the debate over the federal budget.

Participants will be playing the new Election Edition of the game, which includes the policy proposals of President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney as well as dozens of new policy options.

To play the game ahead of time to prepare, visit http://www.publicinsightnetwork.org/budgethero/

The event will also feature remarks by the following people:

• Mark Weinberg, professor and director, Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs, Ohio University
  
  
• Geoffrey Dabelko, professor and director, Environmental Studies, Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs, Ohio University; and senior advisor, Global Sustainability and Resilience Program, Woodrow Wilson Center
  
  
• Michael Burton, associate professor, Department of Political Science, Ohio University
  
  
• Diane Tucker, director, Serious Games Initiative, Science, Technology & Innovation Program, Wilson Center (Washington, D.C.)
  
  
• Jay Ryu, associate professor, Department of Political Science, Ohio University

To participate, RSVP Mollie Fitzgerald at mf254508@ohio.edu, bring a laptop and arrive by 3:30 p.m. for a pre-event briefing and game instruction.

This event is co-sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson Center and Ohio University's Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs.