CNN N. H. Town Hall: on Budget & Economy

Tom Steyer: Balanced budget in good economies, but spend in tough times

STEYER: So the answer to that is, it depends, and let me tell you why. There are times when you want to have a balanced budget and there are times when you don't want a balanced budget. The whole idea about economics is as if we're a family, when times are flush, you want to be putting some money in the bank because everything is going well so you're saving. If something goes wrong, somebody gets sick, somebody loses their job, you have somebody goes to college, you have money to spend. So the answer is, when times are good like now, you should be balancing the budget. When times are tough like 2008 & 2009, you have to be able to take money out of the bank to pay for the health insurance, to pay for the unemployment, to pay for school. That's just the same with us. When times are tough, the government has got to come in with money to support the American people.