1024 Capital Center Drive, Suite 310, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601-8204
Telephone: 502-573-2851 or 800-853-2851 Fax: 502-573-1412 or 800-383-1412
http://www.lrc.state.ky.us/ltprc/home.htm
1024 Capital Center Drive, Suite 310, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601-8204
Telephone: 502-573-2851 or 800-853-2851 Fax: 502-573-1412 or 800-383-1412
http://www.lrc.state.ky.us/ltprc/home.htm
CONTACT: Peter Schirmer
FRANKFORT, KY (February 25, 1997)--If you've ever said to yourself, "I could run this state better than the politicians," here's your chance to do it. Complete with a looming Supreme Court case, a possible major change in federal Medicaid policy, and the threat of a recession, a computer game created and written by the Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center puts you in the Governor's Mansion and lets you make political and financial decisions for Kentucky. The game is currently available as a "beta" or test version and can be downloaded from the Center's home page on the Internet at http://www.lrc.state.ky.us/ltprc/home.htm. It is also available on diskette.
The Center created the game to help educate the public about the long-term economic and social factors affecting Kentucky's budget and to demonstrate the difficult trade-offs required to balance the state's budget. One of the duties of the Center is to inform the public and policymakers about the potential impact of long-term trends and issues affecting the Commonwealth. The game should be particularly useful in high school and college classrooms, and the Center is going to provide a guide for teachers planning to use the game in their classrooms next fall. "What's nice about it is that it's not just a game," says Peter Schirmer, the principle author and designer of the game. "It's also a kind of electronic textbook, but one that's probably much more interesting to use than the usual textbook."
The game begins with players being nominated to run for governor. They receive a budget briefing and a review of possible budget scenarios from their advisors; then it's time to choose a political platform and run for governor. The political platforms include (1) a significant tax cut, (2) more spending for primary and secondary education, (3) more spending for higher education, or (4) more spending for health and safety.
After the election, players must make decisions about spending and taxing in order to balance the budget over the next eight years. But they must also consider the political implications of their actions. If they cut spending or increase taxes too much, their political rating is hurt. If they fail to balance the budget or do not fulfill their campaign promises, the political consequences are severe.
The game offers plenty of charts and text so people can learn how the state budget has changed over the past 20 years, what the state spends for different functions, and where it gets its money. Anyone may download the game from the Center's website or may request a copy of the game on diskette. The Center is currently soliciting comments and reactions from people testing the game. The game is only available for IBM-compatible machines and runs on Windows 3.1x, Windows 95 and Windows NT. For more information, please contact the Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center.