Additional budgetary mechanisms are critical in the context of a BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT which I wholeheartedly support (with the admission that some provision must exist to allow for deficit spending to respond for genuine short seasons of national crisis such as declared war and/or severe economic downturns etc.).
First, we must get serious about "PAY-GO" which policy forces any proposal to be "paid for" before it can be included in legislation. This should include everything from tax-cuts to the latest, greatest social program. If the legislature can't "pay as they go" then they can't propose the conservative or liberal item for consideration. That forces tough decisions today and causes us to continually weigh our priorities in the context of a balanced budget.
Second, the use of "discretionary spending caps" makes much sense. These caps limit the amount (usually as a percentage of the last budget" that all discretionary spending measures can increase their budgets from year to year. Admittedly, this and other suggested budgetary constraints are preventative and seem only to treat symptoms rather than the fiscal disease we suffer from but they do absolutely make it difficult for the situation to get much worse which is the first law of triage.
Stop the bleeding and apply tourniquets, please!!!
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