fiscal conservativism v. fiscal liberalism [View All]

[Vikingking66]

Q: I know traditionally conservatives have argued for a balanced budget and restrained government spending, while liberals have argued for deficit spending on social programs to stimulate the economy. Since Bill Clinton came through with his "progressive" balanced budget, it seems like the entire Democratic Party has pretty much agreed that a balanced budget is necessary, since you can then spend on social programs from surplus.

My question is this: Is there an economically liberal position anymore, or do we have a consensus? Is the only battleground over what to do with the surplus (debt reduction v. social spending) or is there an alternative to balanced budgets within the Democratic Party?