Fix the Budget: TEMPLATE for All Item Posts on Your Blog

Greetings Budget Balancers!

Back from the drawing board with a simplified single-post template for ALL your research on a given Budget Item(s). Here are its benefits. 

INSTRUCTIONS 

1. You want your blog to look like this one. Check it out.
2. Keeping this window open, OPEN a new window and a LAUNCH a second copy of your blog.
3. In your second copy, CREATE a new post to which you will transfer all the data between the ++++++ lines below. 
4. SCROLL down and COPY the content between the ++++++ lines and PASTE it into your new post. This is your new template (with examples).
   
5. Now you can start TRANSFERRING information from your current blog to your single-post template.
6. CLEAN UP your formatting and DELETE examples and instructions.
7. SAVE and POST your new template, DELETE your old blog entry/entries and you are DONE! 
   
8. Due date for the transfer: March 21 after spring break. (Both sections)
9. Hope this helps. Let me know of any bugs in all this info.
10. Enjoy the Break! 

P.S. - If you need them - TIPS on handling bullets:

1. TAB advances a bullet to the right
2. Moving a bullet to the left is tricky. Best way I know is first to unhighlight the bullet number in your blog editing toolbar, and then create a new bullet
3. To delete bullets and move text up, use Backspace.

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[Name of your blog] (your name - nothing else - make changes in Settings)

[Post Title] Area 1 - Domestic and Foreign: Cut Foreign Aid In Half [font: large]

[copy and paste the appropriate Budget Item language from Fix the Budget puzzle - font size: small] 

Example: 

CUT FOREIGN AID IN HALF                                                              $30 BILLION

At a time when the United States is facing large deficits, some budget analysts argue that the country should significantly reduce the money it spends helping other countries. Others say that foreign aid already represents a smaller share of the budget here than in other rich countries and that it expands American influence.

[Reasons in favor of cuts - font size: large + underline] 


[Give reason #1 - font size: normal + bold]

• [Author]. [Title of article - hyperlinked]. [source]. [date].
• Quote:
• [brief author bio - found at end of article or in Wikipedia]
• [your comment/opinion on the article: why is it important?]

Example: 

Reasons why foreign aid should be cut

• Foreign Aid corrupts the countries that receive the aid
• Bandow, Doug. "Foreign Aid, Or Foreign Hindrance." Forbes. 2/22/11.
• Key Quote: “Systematic foreign aid creates opportunities for corruption, cultures of dependency, and disincentives to development. The aid faucet misaligns incentives between donors and recipients, making it extremely difficult to turn off the flow.”
• “Douglas (Doug) Bandow (born ca. 1954) is a former columnist with Copley News Service and a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. He served as a Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan and as a Senior Policy Analyst in the 1980 Reagan for President campaign.” (Wikipedia)
• Comments:
• Agree: Countries like Egypt, El Salvador, and Ethiopia are examples of corruption caused by foreign aid.
• Disagree: Foreign aid will not balance the budget, and cutting it will create tensions with the countries that are dependent on the aid.

[Reasons against cuts - font size: normal + underline]

[Give reason #1 - font size: normal + bold] 

• [Author] [Title of article - hyperlinked] [source] [date]
• Quote:
• [brief author bio - found at end of article or in Wikipedia]
• [your comment/opinion on the article: why is it important?

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