The National Review: Balancing the budget over the business cycle is a smart strategy

Educational freedom, pro-growth tax reform, and personalized health care are priorities being held back by federal and state governments’ wasteful spending and excessive debt. Effective budget targets can help policymakers do better and unleash even more American potential.

Structural balance targets have many benefits. Spending and revenue policies can be stable and predictable. They help legislators avoid overspending during good years or hiking taxes during bad years. Instead, surpluses in good years bulk up reserves that can be tapped during bad years and emergencies. Avoiding cyclical pressures prevents forced ratchets in either direction.

Instead, budget stability lets legislators be more proactive in driving real policy upgrades. For the private sector, expectations of policy stability provide more confidence to invest in better and higher-paying jobs.

Fiscally independent states — and their members of Congress — can better resist federal bailouts and the coercive strings that remain long after the money runs out. In this way, smart budget targets can help states reclaim their sovereignty.

To read the full article, please continue here:  https://www.nationalreview.com/2025/02/how-states-can-maintain-financial-freedom/