Jurors introduced themselves: a group of 24 amazing regular citizens who are taking time away from work, gardening, wedding preparations, and time with grandkids to make recommendations on the economy.
They familiarized themselves with the Citizens Jury values and methods by running through a fictional exercise on preserving a historic yet possibly dangerous courthouse.
They talked very personally about how the economic troubles of recent years has affected them, directly or through family and friends. Common themes included: student debt and the cost of higher education; unemployment and the difficulty of finding good jobs; concerns about selling or buying homes; the price of gas; the importance of watching spending or avoiding debt. For a few of the jurors, some of the economic concerns expressed by jurors the economy has had little direct impact on their own lives, but there was discussion of the worry caused by the general uncertainty surrounding the economy.
They used the Concord Coalition’s federal budget simulator to get introduced to some questions about the debt, and how to ask the right questions to make good policy decisions.
And they received a introduction to the economy from St. Johns University Professor Louis Johnston. Dr. Johnston provided information on basic economic concepts such as the Scarcity Principle and Gross Domestic Product, and fielded questions from the Jurors.