THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Wednesday, February 7, 1996            TAG: 9602070005
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A10  EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   27 lines

SPENDING WON'T SHRINK

Your headline ``Era of big government is over'' (Jan. 24) should be taken with a barrel of salt. Under no proposal being considered will government spending shrink.

The Democrat budget projected government spending would increase by 7 percent per year over the next seven years. The Republicans want government to grow by 3 percent per year ($337 billion total.) Based on previous efforts to eliminate the deficit (e.g., Gramm-Rudman; 1990 budget deal), we cannot realistically expect a balanced budget even if both parties promise it.

If an addict promised you he would stop taking drugs but would need seven more years of fixes first, would you believe him? There is only one political party advocating less federal spending now - the Libertarian Party.

JOHN SAMS

Tyner, N.C., Jan. 28, 1996 by CNB