The federal government is trying to bring back budget rules that embody some sort of common sense:

Mr. Obama announced he was sending legislation to Congress to restore the 1990s-era “pay as you go” law, known as Paygo. The law, in effect from 1990 to 2002, required that tax cuts or new entitlement spending — like the health care overhaul that Mr. Obama hopes will be a signature domestic achievement — be paid for through budget cuts or tax increases.

But that will only stop the hole from getting bigger… and the hole is already plenty big. No wonder there’s talk about legalizing (and then taxing) marijuana.

PS. Supposedly the Democrats are also near consensus on a health care plan.