Staff Writer
While politicians in Washington squabble over the effectiveness of government intervention in the economy, youngsters are debating the issue in their classrooms.
On Friday, students in the International Baccalaureate program at the Academy of Richmond County defended opposite positions, with the boys arguing in favor of the government's tactics and the girls supporting a hands-off approach.
The economics class exercise was designed to prepare students for tests on macroeconomics concepts and to verse students on current events, teacher Mark Hallman said. Friday was the third and final debate in the series.
After both sides presented their arguments using a PowerPoint slide show with economics formulas, sound effects from Law & Order and even an image of a mushroom cloud, students peppered their opponents with questions, pressing them to defend positions.
The boys maintained the quickest way to improve a slumping economy was to prop it up through bailouts, sound fiscal policy and stimulus packages.
It would be too devastating to the economy as a whole to do nothing, they argued.
But the girls countered that the best action the government can take is to take no action at all. Bailouts shift the burden to the taxpayer to right the wrongs of a few within large companies, they said.
The money to fund bailouts and stimulus packages must come from somewhere and that somewhere is taxes, they said.
"It kind of hit home for everybody," Mylesha Grant, 18, said after the debate.
Everyone knows someone who has lost a job or has been adversely affected by the economy, she said.
The debate is better than just hitting the books, classmate Joshua Warner, 16, said. By focusing on one topic, students learn about current events while touching on overarching economic principles.
Both students said it helped them understand the issues by researching various viewpoints.
The aim of the debates and the IB program as a whole is to create more informed people, Dean Charlie Tudor III said.
Reach Greg Gelpi at (706) 828-3851 or greg.gelpi@augustachronicle.com.
