The Growth Advocate

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The Growth Advocate helps the WebQuest team understand one of the main opinions for why a huge national debt is not necessarily a bad thing. Other factors effect the economy and help it to growth. As the Growth Advocate you can develop a basic understanding, learn more or become an expert. Go as far as you can because this will help your team make the most informed answer to the Question and reach the highest levels on the Rubric.

The Basics

1. Your main job is to find out why some people believe the debt isn't a big problem. Skim through the articles below. Read for meaning, not to understand every word and idea. Use the dictionary if you need to.
2. Write down or copy/paste an average of the three most important points from each article you read. Feel free to discuss them with your partners if they are available.

3. Be prepared to answer such questions as:
• What's more important than reducing the debt?
• What has to happen to reduce the debt without paying it off?
• How do other countries compare in their deficit and gross domestic product?

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the Public Debt

from the Bureau of the Public Debt

Current Budget Projections

from the Congressional Budget Office

"I could use the money. So could you."

an editorial from Time.com

Learning More

Use the links below to get a deeper understanding of why the debt may not be so terrible. The pages below are posted by individuals, not organizations, so challenge yourself to read the opinions critically, but with fairness. Again, copy/paste or write down the facts, quotations, statistics and examples that you think are important.

Debt is the wrong enemy. Growth is our neglected ally.

from Steve Conover, Sr.

Myths vs. Realities for the United States National Debt

What's So Bad about the Budget Deficit?

by Scott McPherson, November 12, 2003

Becoming an Expert

Now that you have a better understanding of this particular role, you can help your team more by pursuing additional questions that came up for you. Use the Hotlist of Links as a starting point. Consider some strategies provided by Jamie McKenzie in his article The Research Cycle.

Created May, 1996. Last revised February, 2005 Created by Tom March, tom at ozline dot com Applications Design Team/Wired Learning