Via Kotaku (via USAToday), word that Erskine Bowles has contacted Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer to chat about a game built around balancing the U.S. budget. It’s an interesting idea that’s actually been done (and done well) already. In 2008, MarketPlace, from American Public Media, launched Budget Hero:

Budget Hero tries to bring a level of clarity and simplicity to the federal budget. It is bound to be controversial since the game puts numbers against issues like bringing home troops from Iraq soon or gradually or not at all and providing options on taxes, Social Security and Medicare. American Public Media worked closely with the Congressional Budget Office, GAO and others on the data and devoted months of reporter and researcher time to creating the game. (via BoingBoing)

The “serious games” advocates will want to believe that Pres. Obama has decided to solve our budget woes by crowdsourcing them. But simulations are simplifications, so an effective — and broadly approachable — budget-balancing simulation is not going to create real “budget heroes.” So it’s worth wondering: Given that most of the country believes that the Government is now taxing them more heavily than ever — despite the fact that taxes are actually lower this year for most of us — is the Administration hoping to leverage game technology in order to demonstrate policy procedurally?

Just remember, guys, if you’re hoping to reach the nation’s early-adopters: iPads won’t do Flash.