We asked a panel of experts for the truth about the economy’s health

The only panellists prepared to defend the continued pursuit of a
surplus if the economy remained weak or weakened were Ross Guest, who
said it was a worthwhile aim given the steady rise in government debt to
GDP ratio, and Tony Makin, who qualified his reply by saying the
surplus should be achieved by pruning unproductive expenditure such as
industry assistance rather than deferring tax cuts.