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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 21, 1993                   TAG: 9309040349
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

DEFICIT

It was much worse than Bush had suggested, said the Democrats. Given that, President Clinton had no other choice but to back away from his campaign proposal for middle-class tax relief.

Now Republicans are complaining that Clinton isn't leveling as to the real size of the deficit. Seems it's not nearly as bad as indicated by Clinton's earlier projections.

GOP lawmakers contend the Clinton administration is sitting on a report that confirms that "good news" because it might weaken support for the president's deficit-reduction plans.

The White House is defending its delay in releasing the report, but says, sure enough, this year's deficit may be as low as $285 billion - not $322 billion as estimated in April.

Only $285 billion, huh?

Cancel all efforts to balance the budget. Doubtless, that little $285 billion puddle of red ink will evaporate all by itself in the summer heat. Bottom line, the situation is under control.

Come on. The figure is that much lower, in part, because Congress correctly killed the Clinton jobs-stimulus bill, which would have added to the deficit.

The Republicans obviously hope to woo enough Democrats to their no-new-taxes camp to achieve gridlock on Clinton's economic plan, which of course could be blamed on the Democratic ruling party. If enough Democrats can be persuaded that maybe the deficit isn't all that bad after all, perhaps the GOP strategy will succeed, never mind the country's best interests.

Already, lawmakers have seized on these relatively minor adjustments in short-term projections to call for cuts in Clinton's proposed tax increases. Never mind that the national debt is projected to grow by leaps and bounds toward the end of the decade.

Outside the beltway, the public is fed up with Washington's fuzzy economic thinking, excessive partisanship and political rationalization for doing nothing. It's what got us into this deficit jam in the first place.

In the real world, Republican lawmakers may be surprised to learn, a $285 billion deficit hardly qualifies as "good news." Clinton is right to insist that whatever Congress does to his economic program, it should keep $500 billion or so in deficit reduction over the next five years. The nation needs it.