The Stability Pact initially sought to force countries that wished to join European Monetary Union to bring their budgets closer into balance and to slash excess debt.

Of course, there is an appealing logic to saying that governments should have to balance their budgets just like the rest of us unfortunately, it is not so simple.

Of course, governments can slash their expenditure and increase taxes to balance their budgets, or at least to embark on a path leading in that direction, as the hotly debated example of Greece has shown.

For a short time, asset sales helped balance national budgets, and also provided resources for sustaining consumption.

That will be a difficult balancing act.

Where are the budgets now?

A government that cannot balance its own finances cannot be relied on to provide macroeconomic stability.

Doing so requires balancing many concerns.

Eurozone Budgets Under the Spotlight

In other words, sustainable growth requires all of Asia s China dependent economies to rebalance their two main growth engines.

America s 50 states must maintain balanced budgets.

It would also help if the advanced developed countries fulfilled their commitments to helping the world s poorest by increasing their foreign aid budgets to 0.7 of GDP.

How does one decide when, and in what way, to rebalance one s portfolio?

Those improved ties matter, because the time has come for China to rebalance its traditional geostrategic interests with its role as a global leader.

With a V shaped recovery, however, this expenditure fell again, reducing the deficit rapidly. The recovery could only be partial, because the previous level of output was unsustainable, but it was enough to allow the government to balance its books again.

The recovery could only be partial, because the previous level of output was unsustainable, but it was enough to allow the government to balance its books again.

National budgets may continue to favor the old ways.

Traditionally, America's Republican Party stood for balanced budgets.

Their military budgets are expanding, and there are regional rivalries.

Bill Gates How state budgets are breaking US schools

One extreme is the simplistic Keynesian remedy that assumes that government deficits don t matter when the economy is in deep recession indeed, the bigger the better. At the opposite extreme are the debt ceiling absolutists who want governments to start balancing their budgets tomorrow (if not yesterday).

At the opposite extreme are the debt ceiling absolutists who want governments to start balancing their budgets tomorrow (if not yesterday).

Rich countries and donors have limited budgets and attention spans.

Health care costs will rise, increasing the strain on budgets.

In trying to balance such considerations, the government is in over its head.

How many trees should be planted each year to balance the number those chopped down?

The pressure on employment and household budgets is likely to persist.

The government must avoid relying too much on proposals for tax increases, which ultimately feed back on growth and sustainability. It would be far preferable to balance tax increases with some reversal of runaway government spending.

It would be far preferable to balance tax increases with some reversal of runaway government spending.

Some countries have already experimented with such programs, and India is preparing to begin providing cash transfers to its 300 million poor citizens. In other words, a global cash transfer scheme could be very effective, and would be feasible if donor countries pooled their aid budgets.

In other words, a global cash transfer scheme could be very effective, and would be feasible if donor countries pooled their aid budgets.

One consequence of all of this is that the government can no longer balance its books and has started to discuss spending cuts and new taxes, in particular a sales tax.

At a time when defense budgets are being slashed across the Alliance, this requires a new approach.

Tight budgets are straining the agencies that could be driving path breaking innovation.

But to achieve this, it will be necessary to offset, or at least balance, the interests of the most important actors in the region.

And there would still be a need to decide how to balance efficiency and equity in the provision of services.

The Eastern Partnership was also seen as a way to balance the EU s Russia first approach.

In the market for fresh vegetables, for example, prices must balance the supply and demand for the current harvest.

SHANGHAI The question of how much China s currency should appreciate to rebalance its trade has become a global hot button issue.

As hard as the finance ministry may try to balance expenditures and revenues, it lacks the needed political weight.

However, it is important to always balance the needs of local communities with the needs of nature and biodiversity conversation.

Many countries including the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland run large budget deficits and need to implement medium term reforms to make their pension systems sustainable and to overhaul overly generous social security systems.

The biggest practical constraint they face is their public budgets.

Building on these strengths, the Bank must be willing to understand its client countries realities, rather than pontificate, and to balance its country based work with its global roles.

An effective reform strategy would have to balance the need for budget restraint and macroeconomic stability with growth enhancing policies.