FOCUS QUESTIONS FOR THIS SECTION
What goods and services are furnished by federal, state, and local governments that are not furnished by private producers and consumers?
What part must government play to ensure the continued viability of the U.S. economy as a whole?
Section 6: The Federal Government, Taxes, and the Role of Government
SECTION DESCRIPTION
In these lessons, students begin by developing a strong understanding of the role government plays in a society, including the goods and services provided by the government. Students will connect this understanding to the overall economy using the tools for measuring the health of the economy.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
Define the role of governments in society as providers of public goods and services in exchange for collecting taxes or borrowing from its citizens.
Define government as an institution that spends revenue it collects to benefit all of the citizens of the country/state/locality it serves.
Give examples of federal, state, and local taxes and list the goods and services created by each.
Define savings bond and municipal bond.
LESSON OBJECTIVE
Define an unemployed person as someone who is jobless but willing and able to work.
Explain that jobless people who are unable or unwilling to work are not counted as part of the nation’s unemployed.
Explain that the government tracks unemployed people as an indicator of the health of the economy.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
Use data showing the production of different sections of the U.S. economy to compute the gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States.
Apply knowledge of the components of GDP to predict how employment will be affected by changes in the GDP.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
Examine the effects of federal fiscal policy changes on unemployment and GDP.
Describe what results from increasing or decreasing government spending.
Infer spending decisions that the government will make to remedy problems with unemployment, inflation, falling GDP, and excessive government spending.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
Plan a fiscal policy that, given the problems of rising unemployment and falling GDP, will remedy the problem. Write a letter explaining the course of action taken and the expected results.