To all the people who believe that a constitutional requirement forcing Congress to pass a balanced budget every year will make the federal debt (and yes, there is a difference between a debt and a deficit: deficit being how much money we have to borrow per year, debt being how much money we have borrowed … Continue reading
By Will Portman Critics of a balanced budget amendment (BBA), such as the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), argue that a BBA would “mandate perverse actions in the face of recessions” and thus “aggravate recessions.” And they’ve got a point — at least about a BBA that would mandate that the budget be balanced … Continue reading
By Will Portman On Monday, I went to a talk at the Brookings Institution entitled “America’s Dysfunctional Politics: Is the Constitution to Blame?” Professor Sanford Levinson of the University of Texas School of Law discussed his new book, Framed: America’s 51 Constitutions and the Crisis of Government, which argues that the 225-year-old U.S. Constitution is … Continue reading
Policy Interns 