Celebrate #FinLitMonth with us by finding ideas for you and your students!

Grade 9-12
,
Video

Making Sen$e with Paul Solman: America’s Historical Struggle With Debt and the Role of Federal Government

Updated: December 12 2012,
Author: barrel fan
Teacher Version
Standards Summary
Print

Standards

State Standards

Concepts

Aggregate Demand, Budget Deficit, Budget Deficits and Public Debt, Business Cycles, Fiscal Policy
 Open Video

Between paying now or paying later, Americans have just about always preferred debt to taxes. Paul Solman talks to Simon Johnson of the MIT Sloan School of Management about his new book “White House Burning,” which chronicles the history — including the whys and whererfores, virtues and vices — of U.S. debt.

Related Resources

Grades 9-12

Federal Budget: The Fiscal Ship Game

In this lesson, updated with 2023 statistics, students learn about the challenges of the federal debt and play the Fiscal...
Key Concepts: Budget Deficits and Public Debt, Fiscal Policy, Roles of Government
120 mins
Lesson

Grades 9-12

Economic Misery and Presidential Elections

Updated with new statistics! The students examine economic data in order to predict the results of presidential elections.
Key Concepts: Employment and Unemployment, Fiscal Policy, GDP
45 mins.
Lesson

Content Partner

Grades Higher Education, 9-12

EconoFact

On this website, you can see how the frameworks and theories taught in class relate to real-world timely events.
Key Concepts: Employment and Unemployment, Fiscal Policy, Income Distribution
20 mins
Article