Balanced Budget

What does Balanced Budget mean in American Law?

The definition of Balanced Budget in the law of the United States, as defined by the lexicographer Arthur Leff in his legal dictionary is:

The equalization of governmental revenues and expenditures over a period of time, usually one fiscal year. It is strongly argued that the practice fosters governmental prudence and responsibility, preventing the easy sloughing off into a later period (to be faced by later politicians) of the political costs of cutting back on government programs or raising taxes to fund current ones. It is also argued, however, that balanced budgets exacerbate both inflations and recessions, i.e., that budget balancing is often bad macroeconomic policy. See also Keynesianism.