New online budget game arrives in Philadelphia

March 23, 2009

Alan Tu, WHYY/ It's Our Time

The Economy League of Greater Philadelphia has released a new online budget game that mirrors this city's current fiscal crisis. On my first try, I ended up with a $7 million surplus. Best part: it only took me five minutes.

This budget game asks 15 questions, giving you a choice to raise taxes or cut services in each case. My secret for solving the city's budget crisis over the lunch hour is as follows.

The first thing to do is raise everybody's taxes. That makes the game more fun. Who wants to be the mayor remembered for closing libraries? So I said "yes, yes, yes, yes." The only tax I didn't raise was the business privilege tax. I remember reading that shop owners hate paying taxes, especially when they're not even making a profit. That decision should be good enough to get invited to a Chamber of the Commerce lunch. I raised the wage tax, property tax and amusement tax, but the best one was the sales tax. If you bump it up 1 percent, it will give you a whopping $100 million in magic money.  You know, raising taxes isn't as painful as paying them.

The rest was a breeze. I ordered a 10 percent across-the-board cut to to all departments that were considered "administrative," sold off 400 city cars, and then refinanced a loan the city has for paying into the pension fund.

Voila! I present to you my surplus during a recession.

It's kind of fun, because it's feels a little like playing Sim City. No big budgets to read. Never have to hear the citizens complain (although in the game they move away), and if you don't like the results, you can play it over.

In all seriousness, the game is simplistic, but it is a wonderful way to generate debate in your office. Let me know how you did.

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