The out-of-control federal budget deficit has become one of the most, if not the most, important issue for voters going in to 2012. Adding insult to the overspending injury, most states are in red ink up to their chins. This has sparked a new debate over legislative measures to rein in, and even outlaw, deficits. Some measures may very well work, as did the Gann Limit in California back in the 1980s, but other ideas could easily become vehicles for tax increases instead of spending limits. Therefore, it is extremely important that any push for constitutional or other legal measures toward a balanced budget are coupled with thorough economic analysis.
An example of a bad idea for a balanced-budget constitutoinal amendment is bill sponsored by, among others, Senators Mark Udall (D-CO) and Richard Shelby (R-AL). The only effect of their proposal could easily be tax increases in times of deficits.
