How a zero deficit target can magnify economic downturns.

US economic policy should be defined by long-term goals and not the short-term budget-balancing goal which results in variable reductions and increases in taxes. A balanced budget goal results in fiscal policy being dependent on the fluctuations of economic cycles. Congress has become so accustomed to making policy on the basis of the size of the budget that it is at a loss for goals in Dec of 1997 when the deficit is zero.