Republican Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt appeared on Newsmax Monday and complained, “States have balanced budgets. Why can’t the federal government do the same?”
Stitt reported that Republican governors like him and Ron DeSantis of Florida “are pushing hard to add a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” and added, “It’s the only way to put Congress in check.”
Stitt said that 27 states (including Oklahoma) have a balanced budget amendment. “The way our constitution works is, if we get 34 states, we can push, it’s mandatory to happen, so we think — President Reagan was working on this — if we get 33 states, then Congress will act.”
He added: “It is not practical to keep spending $2 trillion over your income,” and says “I applaud Elon and what President Trump’s doing. The only way you’re gonna get Congress in check is to get a balanced budget amendment across the finish line. And that’s why the states are trying to push that effort.”
States have balanced budgets. Why can’t the federal government do the same?
Republican governors are pushing hard to add a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It’s the only way to put Congress in check. pic.twitter.com/rwrXa4paN8
— Governor Kevin Stitt (@GovStitt) March 26, 2025
Note: In 2011, a group of Nobel laureates and leading economists sent a letter to President Obama and Congress opposing a constitutional balanced budget amendment. “Adding arbitrary caps on federal expenditures would make the balanced budget amendment even more problematic,” the group contended.
“A balanced budget amendment would mandate perverse actions in the face of recessions,” the letter noted. “By requiring large budget cuts when the economy is weakest,” such an amendment “would aggravate recessions,” they claimed.
Obama agreed and said: “We don’t need a constitutional amendment to do our jobs. The constitution already tells us to do our jobs, and to make sure that the government is living within its means and making responsible choices.”
(NOTE: Some countries, like Italy, have incorporated balanced budget provisions while including to option to waive the requirement in times of recession or emergency, a term that has proven friendly to broad interpretation.)
Not all Oklahomans approve of Stitt’s push, and many expressed the wish that he prioritize issues closer to home. Several replied to the Governor by urging him to “Fix the damn roads” and “end property taxes.” (How Oklahoma might do both is perhaps the essence of the challenge.)
Another commenter who identifies as a MAGA supporter replied: “Why aren’t you doing better for the people in the great state of Oklahoma? You say you hear our voices but you do NOTHING about the sky high PROPERTY TAXES… which is a DEBT we can NEVER pay off. Why aren’t you eliminating Oklahoma State income tax like other states have done? You should be just as focused on bringing relief to the people of Oklahoma that elected you. Please help the people in the state you govern.”