As I was saying, there are rules. In Sweden and Switzerland, the rules apply to an entire business cycle. You still need parameters. Quebec's balanced budget legislation says that you can have a deficit as long as, if you have a surplus, you put it in the bank virtually. The next year you have a deficit, you dip into the surplus to absorb the deficit. That is basically the same thing. The idea is to have a balanced budget throughout the business cycle. It is a good thing.
However, you don't need legislation for that, but you need a rule to know where you are heading. Of course, the rule is simple: you have a deficit when things go wrong and you have a surplus when things go well. However, even when things go well, it is hard for a politician to find the right time. The federal government has had a deficit for 25 consecutive years. I am not sure things have been bad for 25 years. Quebec has had a deficit for 40 consecutive years, and I am not sure things have been bad for 40 years. Allowing deficits to linger for a long time means that other generations will have to pay for our spending, which is not any better either.