A balanced budget amendment is NOT a good idea. Once it is passed, the Democrats/RINOs will argue that they are compelled by the Constitution to raise taxes in order to pay for increased government spending.
Sure, conservatives would argue the opposite, but then we would be no better off than we are now, except for the added insult of watching Democrats/RINOs argue that they are just meeting their constitutional obligations by raising taxes.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I think the balanced budget amendement that DeMint was pushing, required supermajorities to raise taxes, which would pretty much mean, no tax hikes.
If nothing else, the balanced budget amendment puts an upper limit on spending, which we currently do not have. Spending, including debt service, could never exceed GDP, and the closer to GDP they get, the more restless the natives, because the requisit tax increases would drop further down the food chain. States with the highest cost of living (i.e, blue states) would be hit the hardest first, which could actually swing those states red.