First National Bank of Fort Smith and the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith’s College of Business will team up to help educate students about the federal budget and national debt by hosting an interactive workshop from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Oct. 12 in the Reynolds Room of the Smith-Pendergraft Campus Center.

 

The workshop will be facilitated by a team member from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a bipartisan public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., that addresses federal budget and fiscal issues.

 

The event, which is free and open to all students on campus, will introduce students to an interactive online tool known as The Debt Fixer. Students will work together to debate the difficult trade-offs necessary to put the US on a sustainable economic budget path. The tool allows students to quickly see how adjustments to budget priorities in health care, defense, Social Security, taxes and other domestic spending, impact the national debt.

 

First National Bank of Fort Smith will be sponsoring lunch for attendees, as well as a T-shirt and prize giveaways.

 

“We are excited to partner with First National Bank of Fort Smith to bring this unique educational opportunity to our students,” said Dr. Latisha Settlage, associate dean in the College of Business and professor of economics. “Those attending are sure to leave with a greater awareness of current economic issues. They will also gain an appreciation of the tough choices that policymakers are faced with as they work to reach consensus.”

 

Congressional delegates representing the Fort Smith area and Arkansas have also been invited to attend.