Frequently asked questions
What is the motivation behind the game?
How can I use my results?
What is the source for the information and data in the game? How was the forecast model created, and what drives the calculations within the game?
Can I suggest a new policy option for you to consider?
Some of the information you have is wrong or out of date. How do I suggest a correction?
What is American Public Media?
Who helped make this game possible?
What is the Public Insight Network and why should I join?
How do I give feedback on the game?
What is American Public Media’s Privacy Policy?
Where can I find the complete list of the candidates' policies in the game?
What is the motivation behind the game?
Budget Hero seeks to provide a values- and fiscal-based lens for citizens to examine policy debates during this election year. Partisan messages tend to cloud the real issues at play during campaigns, and most candidates are loath to attach detailed financial impacts to solutions which make up their platform. Budget Hero provides an interactive experience involving policy options that have been extensively researched and vetted with non-partisan government and think tank experts to enable players to objectively evaluate candidates.
How can I use my results?
Your game results should be considered a start to a conversation with your fellow citizens, legislators and policy makers of our country. By printing out your full game results (which can be done after you have completed your game on the Your Budget Results page), you can identify deeply researched, expertly validated, non-partisan policy options and their financial consequences to use when reaching out to your federal representatives. You can also join a national conversation with other like-minded citizens who have played the game at budgethero.gather.com.
What is the source for the information and data in the game? How was the forecast model created, and what drives the calculations within the game?
American Public Media has invested significant resources to ensure the budget model, policy impacts and pro/con arguments have been rigorously researched, expertly validated and represent non-partisan options. For more details behind our research, methodology, sources, as well as where to go to learn more, click on the Behind the #s tab.
Can I suggest a new policy option for you to consider?
Yes! We will consider suggestions and update the game throughout the election season. You can click on the “Contact” tab and let us know that way, or feel free to email us at: budgethero@americanpublicmedia.org
Some of the information you have is wrong or out of date. How do I suggest a correction?
Send us an e-mail citing the mistake or outdated information, explaining how you know it is wrong or not up to date. Direct this to budgethero@americanpublicmedia.org.
What is American Public Media?
American Public Media is one of the nation's premier public radio producers. Some 20 national programs and specials, including A Prairie Home Companion®, Marketplace® and Saint Paul Sunday® comprise the American Public Media portfolio. 14.7 million people listen to American Public Media programs each week. American Public Media has also produced several other serious online games, including:
Consumer Consequences
http://sustainability.publicradio.org/consumerconsequences
Select A Candidate
http://americanpublicmedia.publicradio.org/engage08/selectacandidate/
Preserving the American Dream Idea Generator
http://americanpublicmedia.publicradio.org/engage08/americandream/
Medical Matchmaker
http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2006/01/13_haega_matchmaker/
The Graduation Challenge Idea Generator
http://www.scpr.org/news/features/2005/09/graduation/
Minnesota Budget Balancer
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/projects/2007/03/budget_balancer/
Who helped make this game possible?
American Public Media produced Budget Hero with support from:
- The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (http://www.cpb.org/)
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967. The mission of CPB is to facilitate the development of, and ensure universal access to, non-commercial high-quality programming and telecommunications services. It does this in conjunction with non-commercial educational telecommunications licensees across America.
The fundamental purpose of public telecommunications is to provide programs and services which inform, enlighten and enrich the public. While these programs and services are provided to enhance the knowledge, and citizenship, and inspire the imagination of all Americans, the Corporation has particular responsibility to encourage the development of programming that involves creative risks and that addresses the needs of unserved and underserved audiences, particularly children and minorities. - The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (http://www.wilsoncenter.org/)
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars aims to unite the world of ideas to the world of policy by supporting pre-eminent scholarship and linking that scholarship to issues of concern to officials in Washington. Congress established the Center in 1968 as the official, national memorial to President Wilson. Unlike the physical monuments in the nation's capital, it is a living memorial whose work and scholarship commemorates "the ideals and concerns of Woodrow Wilson." As both a distinguished scholar and national leader, President Wilson felt strongly that the scholar and the policymaker were "engaged in a common enterprise." Today the Center takes seriously his views on the need to bridge the gap between the world of ideas and the world of policy, bringing them into creative contact, enriching the work of both, and enabling each to learn from the other. - The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (http://www.sloan.org)
Established in 1934 by Alfred Pritchard Sloan, Jr., then-President and Chief Executive Officer of the General Motors Corporation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation makes grants in science, technology and the quality of American life. The Foundation also runs the prestigious Sloan Research Fellowship Program. Established in 1955, this program aims to enhance the careers of the very best young faculty members in selected fields of science at American and Canadian universities and colleges.
What is the Public Insight Network and why should I join?
Public Insight Journalism is a new approach that journalists with American Public Media shows like Marketplace, Marketplace Money, American RadioWorks and Weekend America are using to find diverse sources and a broader range of information. It involves partnering with the public and, at its heart, is our Public Insight Network – a group of tens of thousands of people who have agreed to help us cover the news.
Many of our public sources have told us about their work, education, passions and expertise. Almost daily, we ask some of these public sources in the network to share their observations and knowledge with us on specific stories. Our public insight analysts take that information, distill it, and pass it on to our reporters and editors. Analysts may follow up with a request for more information, or perhaps an interview with a public source.
We also ask public sources to tell us about stories that we should be covering – stories that matter to them and are not on our radar. And we ask people to participate in online interactives where they share ideas and stories, and reason through tough issues.
These public insights help us set our agenda for coverage and inform our reporting. We believe this partnership creates more diverse and in-depth news and cultural coverage. It also makes American Public Media programs more trusted and credible sources of news and information. To learn more about the Public Insight Network, check out our website at: http://americanpublicmedia.publicradio.org/publicinsightjournalism/.
How do I give feedback on the game?
Once you’ve tackled the Budget Hero challenge and seen how you stack up to other players, we welcome your insights into how the game could be improved, what you learned, how it affected your views on the election or any other thoughts on the game. You can do this through the “Comments” feature at the end of the game. Alternatively, you can click on the “Contact” tab and send us a message there. Finally, at any time, you can always shoot us an e-mail at: budgethero@americanpublicmedia.org.
What is American Public Media’s Privacy Policy?
American Public Media takes the privacy of our audience very seriously. Our privacy practices can be reviewed in full at: http://americanpublicmedia.publicradio.org/privacy/
Where can I find the complete list of the candidates' policies in the game?
Use the "Candidates" tab at the top of the page for a complete list of each candidate's policies.
