The Wisdom to Let the Good Times Roll Mr. Clinton's fiscal policy served as a laboratory for a change in economic thought. For decades, governments had operated in the belief that running deficits was often good because it would stimulate activity and employment in an economy running at less than its potential. But that traditional assumption, based on the economic theories of John Maynard Keynes, has been turned on its head, at least in the United States. Deficits are now considered growth-sapping, draining capital from the private sector, pushing up interest rates and creating uncertainty on Wall Street. Balanced budgets � or better yet, surpluses � are believed to hold down interest rates, free capital for the private sector and reassure investors about long-term economic stability. http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/25/politics/25CLIN.html?pagewanted=alll