Budgeting Fun

Leslie Harrison

TO MOST PEOPLE, BALANCING their budget could hardly be thought of as fun, but an interactive online game now is giving web users a chance to learn more about how New York City's budget works and how Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration faces tough decisions every day. After logging onto www.GothamGazette.com/budgetgame, each player is given a $3.8 billion deficit in the city's 2004 fiscal year budget. As “cyber mayor,” each player must weigh spending decisions and incoming revenues to bring the balance to zero. Players, for example, can add or cut funding to the Department of Sanitation, scaling back some jobs or eliminating them completely. In reality, New York City's budget deficit and mayoral decisions have received a great deal of attention. See if you can balance the budget without angering too many people.

Source: www.newsday.com