The balanced budget amendment is not only bad economics. It's also bad politics and an abuse of the Constitution. Let me tell you why. When the economy is booming like it is now, there is no good reason to be running in the red. Incomes are high, and so are tax revenues.
Poverty is low, and so is the demand for food stamps and unemployment and other assistance.
In good times, a balanced budget is perfectly doable. A balanced budget amendment, essentially locking our spending course on autopilot, would do little or no harm. But think about what would happen the next time the economy starts going into a dive. The Congress and the president will be virtually powerless to do anything to help get it moving again. In fact, with a balanced budget amendment, the government will only make things worse.