People Don’t Want Big Spending Spree

After two decades at the center of our nation’s political and economic concerns, the federal budget deficit is almost gone - for the moment.

During the next year, some economists say, the federal government will begin taking in more tax revenue than it spends.

For this achievement there is plenty of credit, so to speak, to go around:

Several presidents and many sessions of Congress have hammered out deals to bring in more revenue, boost the economy and slow the growth rate in federal spending.

Voters, concerned about the burdens of irresponsible and ineffective federal spending, booted out many of the spenders and transformed Congress, electing Republicans whose priority was a balanced budget and a set of tough program curtailments. For partisan balance, voters chose one of the most conservative Democratic presidents in years.

The capitalist economy is booming, pouring unexpected revenue into the treasury. Some of this resulted from conservative fiscal and regulatory policy that eased governmental burdens on business. Much of it was the result of global trade dynamics, the Federal Reserve’s tough monetary policy, productivity gains from computer automation, and business innovations for which entrepreneurs, not politicians, deserve the credit.

However, neither the cause nor the legacy of deficit spending has disappeared. Federal politicians still feel the itch to buy votes by confiscating more of our money and spending it on nice-sounding new programs. And, after two decades of wild deficit spending, our government is $5.4 trillion in debt. Payments on that debt consume $250 billion a year - a seventh of our federal taxes.

Today, in place of deficit reduction, there are three objectives that belong at the top of federal priorities: 1, reducing the debt; 2, keeping the economy strong; and 3, continuing the restraint in taxation and spending that helped move the budget toward balance.

Foolishly, both Democrats and Republicans are racing to spend a surplus that doesn’t even exist yet. Republicans want to spend it on highways and defense. President Clinton this week trotted out so many new spending inventions - from day care to higher education - that he will propose a tax increase (on tobacco) to keep his next budget in balance.

Boys, boys, boys. What part of KEEP YOUR GRUBBY FINGERS OUT OF OUR WALLETS don’t you understand? Show your stewardship by reducing the debt.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = John Webster For the editorial board