GOVT 2305 – Dr. Crissien
Critical Thinking Assignment
(Note: This is worth 30 points and is due Friday, March 8th at 11:59PM)
OBJECTIVE: This assignment has two key purposes: 1) to develop the student’s ability to analyze and interpret information and arguments; 2) to assess the student’s ability to interpret visual information. Translation: you are demonstrating your capacity to think critically, while also showing the ability to interpret graphs and charts.
*Remember: you are largely being graded on the quality of your analysis and use of sources. This means that you will want to put things IN YOUR OWN WORDS and cite sources where appropriate. You should use in-text citations or footnotes, your choice. If you put in effort and avoid plagiarism you should be in decent shape.
BACKGROUND: Yearly public opinion data consistently shows that a key political issue for Americans is the increasing federal debt. Unknown to most Americans are the causes of this debt and how it can be fixed. This assignment builds on a couple of key ideas: “budget deficits” and the “federal debt.” Here is an explanation of these two concepts.
When someone mentions “budget deficits” they are referring to a yearly monetary deficit that the federal government is running. Here’s a fake example: when someone says that in 2017 federal spending hit $400, BUT revenues were only $300, they are pointing out that the feds had a $100 deficit that year. Put simply, a deficit is specific to a single year and points out that the federal government had to borrow money to carry out its functions.
When someone refers to the “federal debt” they are referring to the accumulation of yearly deficits over time. So when they say that the yearly budget deficits from 2016 and 2017 added $200 to the federal debt, they mean that this amount was added to the running total that the government is borrowing over time. As is the case for regular people, the federal government’s yearly credit card bill does not disappear every year.
Still confused? You’re not alone. Here’s a video that might help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sUCSGVYzI0
PROCEDURES: Now that you have a little background on deficits and debts, your task is to analyze and explain WHY this is a growing problem. You will conduct this analysis by doing the following:
First, pick your sources: Select AT LEAST three of the following sources to conduct your analysis. Each source provides an argument as to why the federal debt has grown and why this is a problem. Once you have read and researched your sources, you can move to the written section below.
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/national-debt-dilemma
https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2018/03/19/entitlement-spending-crisis-ignored-debt-looms/
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2018-republicans-growing-deficit/
https://www.thebalance.com/u-s-military-budget-components-challenges-growth-3306320
https://www.thebalance.com/current-us-discretionary-federal-budget-and-spending-3306308
Written Section #1: Please number your responses to facilitate grading; each number is worth 8 points (24 points total for the section). Each response should be AT LEAST 250 words in length (750 words total for the section). Sources should be cited in whichever format you would like (in-text citations or footnotes are fine).
1. Using multiple sources please provide an explanation for why the U.S. Federal Government is in debt. Please present several possible explanations for the problem. Address which explanations have the strongest arguments and which have the weakest arguments and why (8 points). (CT1 and CT2)
2. Of the arguments that have been presented, which do you prefer and why? What other possible factors might influence our national debt, but are not addressed in this perspective? Based on your beliefs about the national debt, what course of action do you think should be taken to decrease the debt? What are some possible reasons why you might be wrong? (8 points) (CT3 and CT4)
3. Assuming that the course of action you recommend is taken by the U.S. Government, what do you believe the consequences would be? Do not just think about the consequences it would have on the national debt, but also on the United States budget as a whole and the affect if would have on the day-to-day lives of average Americans. (8 points). (CT5).
Written Section #2: To respond to the following question you should use the graphs and charts provided in the assignment folder. Please number your responses to facilitate grading; your responses should be AT LEAST 150 words in length (450 words total for the section). These are worth 6 points total.
1. Describe what the graphs look like visually. Pretend that the reader is not able to see the graphs and give as much detail as possible. (2 points) (VL1)
2. What information are the graphs presenting? What are the graphs telling you about? Take the information that is presented visually and communicate it to the reader in written form. (2 points) (VL2)
3. What does the information presented in these graphs mean for the U.S. Government and the country? How might government spending (outlays) affect the federal budget deficit? How might the federal budget deficit impact the economy (GDP) now, in the past or in the future? (2 points) (VL3)
