The balanced-budget amendment delusion

When I graduated from college in 1976, I got a job in Washington with the National Taxpayers Union, which was working to get a constitutional amendment to require a balanced federal budget. Someone graduating today could sign up there and pursue the same goal. The balanced-budget amendment has never gone away and never come to pass.

Last week, a vote in the House of Representatives fell short of the two-thirds majority needed for that measure. But we haven’t seen the last of it. If Republicans capture the White House and the Senate next year, expect another push.