In addition to the learning outcomes for the course, ASUN expects students to be able to express ideas, knowledge, and concepts in a clear and concise manner on a collegiate level and to be able to apply reasoning skills as demonstrated by problem-solving and utilization of applied knowledge. To demonstrate these outcomes, you will analyze treasury statements of the U.S. Government for specific years in order to:

Identify and explain the purposes, tools, and limitations of fiscal policy.

Describe how the cyclically adjusted budget reveals the status of U.S. fiscal policy.

Discuss the size, composition, and consequences of the U.S. public debt.

Explain why there is a long-run fiscal imbalance in the Social Security system.

Explain the types of unemployment and inflation and their economic impacts.

You will also be assigned a specific cabinet department (Department of Defense, Department of Commerce, etc.) and will research various aspects of that department's annual spending. To complete project you will need to access the Monthly Treasury Statement archives and Employment Situation Reports, at the following sites:

Monthly Treasury Statement archives

Employment Situation Report

This is a collegiate-level research project and it will be graded accordingly. Your project is based on a 300-point scale You should present your research in (1) a report formatted in apa format, doubled-spaced, 12-point Times Roman font and (2) summarize your report in a PowerPoint presentation.

Some of the questions will require calculations while others require written explanations. Present your collegiate-level analysis in a clear and concise manner. Use tables for displaying numbers and monetary sums. Express all monetary sums in U. S. dollars and abbreviate with M for million, B for billion, and T for trillion. For example, $100 million would be presented as $100M and $100 billion would be expressed as $100B. References should be cited in text and listed in the bibliography. Improperly cited work will result in your project being rejected. Otherwise, you will receive up-to 10 points for specifically researching and thoroughly analyzing each item on the following list:

General questions about the U. S. Government:

1. Calculate the change in total receipts and outlays from Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 and FY 2015, and explain economic factors and policy changes that caused the change.

2. Describe the sources and types of government receipts for FY 2015, based upon the treasury statement.

3. Describe, using calculations and other descriptions, the effect of the recession of 2007-2009 on the federal deficit in FY 2008.

4. Compare the social security receipts (on and off-budget) to social security outlays for 2005 and 2015. What can you conclude from this comparison about the future of social security?

Questions specific to your department:

5. As a percentage, how much did spending increase in your department between 2005 and 2015, adjusting for inflation?

6. What factors accounted the most for increases/decreases in spending between these periods?

7. What line item accounted for the most spending in your department in 2015?

8. If you were required to cut any line item from your department, what would it be, and why?

9. If you were required to increase spending in any section of your department, which would it be and why?

10. What percentage of total government outlays were from your department in 2015?

11. Do you believe spending in your department is excessive relative to other departments, or not enough? Explain your answer.

12. Do you see a need for spending in your department to increase or decrease over the next 20 years? Explain.