The pain seems all too immediate. benefits are cut, programs terminated, federal employees laid off. But would a balanced budget bring any quick payoff for the average American? Yes, according to many economists and Wall Street analysts. A deficit-free America would enjoy widespread benefits in the form of lower interest rates for mortgages and business loans. That would spur a boom in housing construction and business investment, creating jobs and raising incomes.
It may sound like trickle-down economics, but the process is much more reliable. Eliminating the deficit would ease the government's demands on America's already shallow pool of savings, which...