I agree with the idea that there shouldn't be a need for an amendment like this; but there is also truth in Marco's statement that government, no matter who is in charge, will always spend the money it takes in; and will always be hungry for more money.

Just take the 1000's of committees, commissions, orgs, etc that are part of the government. You will be hard pressed to name one segment of the US government that has ever come in under budget. It simply doesn't happen; all the money is always spent; and if they have left over money towards the end of the budget year; they just spend it all on stuff; so they can claim they need more.

This 'law' of government is almost like gravity; it is easy to spend other peoples money. Maybe this should be accounted for in the constitution.

Btw; I fundamentally disagree with the notion that government even needs to finance anything; but perhaps that is a topic for another thread.

When an individual takes out a loan; he is burdening a future version of himself to a payment for the benefit of his present self.

When a government takes out a loan; it is burdening a future generation for the benefit of the present one.

This is fundamentally unethical and also creates a system where politicians can buy votes at the expense of a future generation.