By now, most Georgians know their state is more fiscally responsible than the federal government. If not, Washington is doing everything it can to prove the point.

Unlike the federal government, states are generally prohibited from running deficits. Georgia is one of 49 states with a constitutional or statutory requirement to balance its budget each year. That means lawmakers must live within their means — and can’t simply print money or sell unlimited debt to kick the can down the road.

The Framers of the Constitution didn’t explicitly ban federal deficit spending, but they clearly feared its potential abuse. Thomas Jefferson, in ...