Ordinary citizens can do better than Congress with 'Budget Hero'

Another game for Congress to play

By Dana Milbank, WashPost, Published: September 19

Steny Hoyer, the House Democratic whip, stood in his conference room at the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon and argued that our problems could be solved if only lawmakers would play more games.

“It’s so very important,” he said, standing in front of a screen announcing the launch of “Budget Hero: Election Edition,” a video game in which people of all ages can try their luck at balancing the federal budget.

Hoyer’s is probably a minority view; the American people, only a tenth of whom approve of the job Congress is doing, probably think our leaders already spend enough time playing games, thank you very much. But the minority whip has a point.

“Budget Hero” is not quite “Angry Birds” — yet it will leave you squawking mad about the ruinous consequences of politicians’ failure to reach a debt agreement. Playing off the music simulation game “Guitar Hero,” the nonpartisan Wilson Center and the Public Insight Network devised the game, at BudgetHero.org, to allow would-be budget-cutters to try their preferred mix of policy proposals.

(More here.)