
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, April 22, 1993                   TAG: 9304220434
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

BUYING FRIENDSHIP WITH RED INK

I HAVE heard the phrase "balance the budget" for most of my adult life. Presidential candidates all promise to work on this, but it's just that, a promise.

They promise cuts in defense spending, government payroll, better health care for the retired and elderly, and no tax increase for the middle-income wage earners.

Then when they get into office, we find that they didn't have the right figures on the national debt. It's much higher than they thought, so they cannot fulfill the promises they made. I can't imagine anyone running for president and not having more accurate figures on something so important as the national debt.

Of all the cuts in spending, you didn't hear about any cuts in vast amounts of foreign aid. These billions that are going out of this country each year could be used to help reduce the national debt.

We are trying to buy the world's friendship. Sure, any country that receives this money each year from us will be our friend. But stop it and you stop the friendship. Then they are ready to attack us. What have we gained?

This "land of milk and honey" is running out of milk and honey. Our government needs to wake up and realize that we cannot continue to feed and finance the world. It is good to give, but look at the red ink. We don't have it to give. LINDEN REID SALEM

by CNB