I think the closest there is to a consensus among economists is that deficit spending is beneficial at least some of the time, especially during recessionary pe

I think the closest there is to a consensus among economists is that deficit spending is beneficial at least some of the time, especially during recessionary periods. An amendment that didn't allow any deficit spending would severely limit the ability of the government to respond to an economic downturn, especially if that downturn corresponds with a decrease in tax revenue. However, there may be room to put limits on spending over time, maybe limiting borrowing to some percentage of taxes collected, or limiting the number of consecutive budgets with deficit spending, etc. It's not clear to me, however, that such a restriction would be beneficial, and it's easy to see scenarios where a no exceptions amendment could lead to disaster, like an extended military conflict that necessitated large deficits to fund.