A faltering economy and record high deficits don't come as good news to anyone. However, Professor Dan Otto found that current economic conditions created the perfect backdrop for fertile discussions in his Public Finance and Public Policy class this past semester.

"The class is designed to give students the tools they need to analyze when and how the government might intervene in the economy, and to analyze the effects of those interventions," said Otto.

Students from nine different majors worked throughout the semester on team projects around issues of the deficit. Spending cuts, entitlement reform, and revenue strategies were areas of concentration, and eventually they came up with a series of recommendations. Mid-semester they were invited by a non-partisan organization called The Concord Coalition to participate in a workshop on issues related to the federal deficit, along with other students from the University of Iowa and UNI.

After a semester of analysis and debate, Otto said it seemed like a "natural" to put together an editorial to share their ideas. He drafted a piece using their recommendations "as coming from their generation," working back and forth with student input. The editorial was submitted to the Des Moines Register and then published.

“The students were very insightful and very aware of the unsustainability of the current system of entitlements," he said. “They can see the charts 30 years from now, that if we put off a solution the problem will compound."

The editorial sparked an active online debate. One student said, "It just goes to prove how hot-button of an issue this is." Some online applauded the students. "Interesting that a group of college students can present a more comprehensive plan than either the White House or US Senate," read one online posting.

Otto said the semester was “one of the most enjoyable" for him because current events made the class discussions so relevant. "It gave us a lot to talk about."

Read the Des Moines Register editorial at: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20110603/OPINION01/106030318/Students-We-can-t-wait-to-fix-the-deficit-debt

Learn more about The Concord Coalition at: http://www.concordcoalition.org