They broke it, you fix it

Maybe not the hottest game on the internets and maybe not really a game, but this little budget puzzle from the New York Times last week has attracted quite a bit of attention.

Today, you’re in charge of the nation’s finances. Some of your options have more short-term savings and some have more long-term savings. When you have closed the budget gaps for both 2015 and 2030, you are done. Make your own plan, then share it online.

It's an interesting learning exercise that is more relevant to conservation than you might think. Have a go. Then take a look at a summary of people's solutions.

My conclusion? It's surprisingly easy to balance the budget and even to generate a surplus to bring down the debt. However getting people to agree which plan to adopt is going to be very, very hard.

Oh yes, and for extra bonus points - which of the various policy choices would have conservation implications?