Taxes, Spending & Debt: Is America Going Broke? | Civics Made Easy

Why do we pay taxes? Where does all of that money actually go? And is the U.S. government collecting and spending our money wisely? Ben Sheehan takes a hard look at America’s finances. What is the history of taxing and spending? Who gets to decide how much money we owe? Why are some spending items in the budget “required” while others are optional? And how bad is the U.S. national debt?

About the Author:
Passionate about fostering critical thinking and informed citizenship, Mary Kate Lonergan serves as the K-6 social studies curriculum specialist at Fayetteville-Manlius Central Schools. Her previous experience teaching eighth grade social studies, high school world history, and participation in government fuels her commitment to student learning. Lonergan empowers students to critically engage with media and information by making media literacy the throughline of her social studies curriculum. She has developed and implemented media and digital literacy professional development courses and has presented at conferences from the national to local levels. Lonergan is a KQED Media Literacy Innovator, serves as a teacher collaborator with Ithaca College’s Project Look Sharp, and is a faculty member of the Media Education Lab’s Summer Institute in Digital Literacy.