Budget Game: Making Debt Fun

With the national debt well over $13 trillion, it seems a tall order to fix U.S. finances. Think you're smart enough to make those tough decisions? The nonprofit Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget's new online tool lets users weigh different scenarios for reducing spending and stabilizing debt.

The simulation begins with the premise that the federal government must reduce its debt to 60 percent of the gross domestic product by 2018. The tool then walks users through a number of scenarios around Social Security, Defense, health care and domestic spending, as well as changes in tax expenditures and opportunities for revenue. A thermometer widget on the side of the page shows the debt's percent of GDP as choices are made.

So next time you ask yourself how we ended up with trillions of dollars in debt, keep in mind that managing all those variables isn't as easy as it looks.