Where the Money Goes · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Reading what a budget really says

Civics & Economics · Government · ages 15-16
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Why is most spending hard to cut in any one year?

    • Voters enjoy reading budgets
    • Laws and past promises lock it in
    • Money prints itself each spring

  2. Which items take the largest shares of a national budget?

    • Pensions, health care, defence, and interest
    • Stamps, flags, and ceremonies
    • Foreign gifts and prizes

  3. What is the difference between a deficit and the debt?

    • Deficit is the one year gap, debt is the pile
    • They are two words for taxes
    • Debt is yearly, deficit is total

  4. A minister proposes a costly new programme. What must the plan state?

    • What gives way to fund it
    • A catchy name for it
    • Which celebrity backs it

  5. Why is borrowing never free?

    • Lenders send thank-you cards
    • Interest becomes its own budget item
    • Borrowing shrinks the debt

  6. Most national spending can be cut quickly and painlessly within one year.

    Circle one:   True   False

  7. Two leaders both praise schools, but only one budget raises school spending. Who prioritises schools?

    • Both equally, since words match
    • Neither, since budgets hide values
    • The one whose budget spends more on schools

  8. A candidate promises a big new programme plus lower taxes plus no borrowing. What is wrong?

    • Voters dislike good news
    • The sums cannot all hold at once
    • Programmes need no funding
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Reading what a budget really says W1-mt_eMsYs94O9Z-s1

  1. Laws and past promises lock it in · Benefit formulas and wages cannot drop without new laws.
  2. Pensions, health care, defence, and interest · A few giant items dominate before anything else is argued.
  3. Deficit is the one year gap, debt is the pile · Repeated yearly gaps pile into the total owed.
  4. What gives way to fund it · Cuts, taxes, or borrowing with interest must cover it.
  5. Interest becomes its own budget item · Interest takes room that other programmes could have used.
  6. False · Locked-in laws and promises make fast painless cuts unlikely.
  7. The one whose budget spends more on schools · The budget shows what a government actually values.
  8. The sums cannot all hold at once · Something must give: a cut, a tax, or borrowing.
Worksheet · LightMySky