The report was prepared in a compressed time frame from March 13, 2023, through April 28, 2023, and further work over a longer period could draw additional or different conclusions.” Barr, Review of the Federal Reserve’s Supervision and Regulation of Silicon Valley Bank.
This pattern has exacerbated the deficit during the cyclical downturn so that, on aggregate, debt has increased over the business cycle. If the government budget must, as a main rule, be structurally in balance every year, this reduces the likelihood that the total debt grows over time. Deficits in bad times must be matched by surpluses in good times.