The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget is now accepting submissions for our new Fiscal Fallout Contest, where students are given the opportunity to put a human face on the consequences of high and rising federal debt. The winner will receive $5,000.
The federal budget deficit will exceed $1 trillion this year, and the national debt as a share of the economy will reach its highest point outside of World War II. In the coming years, debt will continue to grow rapidly. As Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell recently testified to Congress, “the federal budget is on an unsustainable path.”
The consequences of high and rising debt include slower income growth, less ability to combat the next recession, rising debt service payments, entitlement programs on the brink of insolvency, increased burdens on future generations, and a higher risk of an eventual fiscal crisis.
While these consequences are alarming, they are hard to personalize. It is difficult to visualize the damage debt can cause for individuals, families, and businesses around the country. The Fiscal Fallout Contest is an opportunity for those who would be most affected by the national debt, students, to demonstrate the human consequences of debt.
The Fiscal Fallout Contest asks students to create a compelling multimedia presentation (video, podcast, short story, song, storyboard, etc,) portraying the human and societal impact of our unsustainable fiscal situation.
Entrees could focus on any potential long-term consequences of debt – whether a spike in interest rates, stagnant wages, or some type of fiscal crisis – the choice is theirs!
The goal is to humanize the risks and costs associated with the debt, and to win $5,000 in the process.
Who: Open to current high school, college, and graduate students
What: A contest to raise awareness about the national debt
When: Submissions due March 1, 2020
Top Prize: $5,000 (what the U.S. spends every half-second on interest on the debt). Second and third place prizes of $1,000 and $500.
Submissions now being accepted!
More information available at:
