Description
Two links:
https://www.concordcoalition.org/issue-brief/troubling-trend-federal-investment-spending
http://conversableeconomist.blogspot.com/2012/08/entitlements-public-investment-and.html
Need to read the Tim Taylor article in order to answer this question. (7 paragraphs total)
1. How has the composition of government spending changed since the 1960’s? Support your answer with examples from the article. (1-2 paragraph)
2. Then explain how the various categories of federal government spending (such as spending on entitlements, or infrastructure or basic research) qualify as either consumption or investment spending. In your answer, be sure to define the terms ‘consumption’ and ‘investment’ (see next slide) (1-2 paragraph)
3. Explain how the changing pattern of government spending affects the real economic burden of the national debt. (See the Burden of the National Debt and Government Spending Priorities powerpoint. (2-3 paragraphs)
Need to understand the meaning of the terms Consumption and Investment as they pertain to government spending in order to answer this question.
(Consumption is spending on goods and services whose value is used up in the current period.
Investment is spending on goods or services whose value is not used up in the current period.
Investment increases the economy’s capacity to produce in the future.)
Entitlement Spending in Historical Perspective
The real economic sacrifice imposed on the country by government borrowing could be zero – or
it could be substantial – depending on what the government does with the money. In the article,
“Entitlements, Public Investment, and the Changing Nature of the U.S. Government,” on Tim
Taylor’s blog, Conversable Economist, we find that ‘what the government does with the money’
has been changing over time in a consistent manner.
I want you to consider three points related to that article:
1. How has the composition of government spending changed since the 1960’s? Support your
answer with examples from the article.
2. Then explain how the various categories of federal government spending (such as spending on
entitlements, or infrastructure or basic research) qualify as either consumption or investment
spending. In your answer, be sure to define the terms ‘consumption’ and ‘investment.’
3. Explain how the changing pattern of government spending affects the real economic burden of
the national debt. (See The Burden of the National Debt and Government Spending Priorities
powerpoint in the Writing Assignment #4 folder on Blackboard. (Two paragraphs)
Here’s the URL for the article in case the link doesn’t work for you:
http://conversableeconomist.blogspot.com/2012/08/entitlements-public-investment-and.html
Grading Rubric
The table below shows the criteria your essay will be judged against. I expect four to seven
paragraphs, double-spaced. Your essay will be assessed as either ‘Meets expectations’ or ‘Needs
improvement’ on each of the four criteria in the table below. If your essay meets expectations on 3
of the four criteria, your score will be 75%; 2 out of four criteria met will result in a score of 50%,
etcetera.
After receiving feedback from NetTutor you have up to a week to revise and re-submit the essay for
another try – but you only get one second chance on each writing assignment. I will take the
average of your three highest writing assignment scores to compute your writing assignment
average.
4 Criteria Needs Improvement Meets Expectations
Writing
The writing is difficult to follow
and/or poorly organized.
Transition sentences are
absent or ineffective. Typos
and/or grammatical errors
distract the reader.
Ideas are well-organized.
Transition sentences
effectively connect one idea to
the next. The essay is free of
typos and grammatical errors.
Application of economic
analysis
The changing composition of
federal government spending is
inaccurately or incompletely
explained, and/or no examples
from the reading are included.
The changing composition of
federal government spending is
reported accurately and
thoroughly explained with
examples from the reading.
The student demonstrates
weak understanding of the
terms consumption and
investment and/or inaccurately
categorizes the various
categories of government
spending into these groups.
The student demonstrates
understanding of the terms
consumption and investment
and accurately categorizes the
various categories of
government spending into
these groups.
The student demonstrates a
weak understanding or an
incorrect view of why the way
the government spends the
money today determines the
burden of the debt to future
generations.
The student demonstrates a
firm understanding of why the
way the government spends the
money today determines the
burden of the debt to future
generations.