European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 16, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 the stars and stripes sunday february 16,1986 columns David Broder politicians must realize the Bills have to be paid the political reality behind the budget de Bate that fills the air is not pretty to contemplate. But it is important to understand. For the last five years the american people have not come within a mile of paying for the amount of govern ment we receive and seem to want. We have been living in a dream world. We enjoy the benefits of government services from subsidized transportation to Cost free medical care to spy satellite Protection against soviet sneak attacks while the Bills pile up unpaid. Deficits Are not new. But deficits of this scale have never before been seen in times of peace with a health economic performance and Low inflation. They cannot continue because we Are approaching the Point at which interest on the accumulated debt will absorb so much of the annual tax collections that no Money will be left to pay for government services no matter How vital. Why do we have such deficits the blame i widespread. When president Reagan proposed deep tax cuts in 1981, House democrats and Senate republicans both decided to expand his Over generous initiative permanently weakening the Revenue base. On the spending Side As he insisted on billions More for defense Mem Bers of Congress dug in to defend politically popular forms of Domestic spending. There was no outlay discipline to match the shrinkage of the tax base. Senate republicans were the first to sober up from this fiscal Binge and each year starting in 1982, the have battled to close the Gulf Between spending and revenues. Last year some of them hit on a new device the Gramm Rudman automatic deficit reduction plan in Hopes it would Force president Reagan and the House democrats to help fill in the cavernous Gap Carl Rowan Between the government s income and its outlays. But because both House democrats and the presi Dent had the Power to Block or veto Gramm Rudman Senate republicans had to tailor the cure to meet the same demands that had caused the disease. What they hoped to do was to put everything on the table and forge a balanced solution to the deficit problem. But by the time they were finished negotiating with Reagan and the House democrats half the budget was exempt from automatic cuts and another Quarter was substantially protected. The remaining Quarter faces severe slashes so Long As the president holds to his position that there can be no tax increase. That is one reason Why sen. Warren b. Rudman r-n.h., the co sponsor of Gramm Rudman is so eager to avoid resorting to his plan s distinctive feature the september trigger for automatic sequestration of big chunks of unprotected programs. As one of the Senate s More sensible men and As a politician facing re election in november Rudman realizes there will be nothing reasonable and much thatis damaging if the trigger must be pulled. He argues that Congress has both a duty and the ability to reach the $144 billion deficit target for fiscal 1987 which Gramm Rudman sets without resort to the trigger. He Points to the new and strengthened tools Gramm Rudman gives the House and Senate budget commit tees to help them enforce fiscal discipline and reach the specified target this summer and in a fashion that weighs the relative Worth of various programs. Those tools Are there but it remains to be seen i they will be used. So Long As Reagan adheres to his position that there be no significant cuts in his defense buildup and no tax increases the temptation will be Strong for Congress to hang equally Tough in protecting Domestic spending. In this game of budgetary Chick in the National interest is the Likely loser. In recent Days a flurry of optimistic deficit estimates have convinced some members of Congress that the fiscal 1987 target can be reached without a great Deal of Strain or pain. Low inflation declining Oil prices and a healthy econ omy have reduced the projected 1987 deficit from Over $200 billion to just Over $180 billion. But the main reason for the apparent improvement. Congressional budget office director Rudolph g. Penner explains i that his office and its executive Branch counterpart the office of management and budget Are building the assumptions of Gramm Rudman into their new Bare Bones budget the situation is not As Good As it Penner says noting for example that where defense spending was Ore i Ousby projected to grow 3 percent to 5 percent above Infra. Lion the new budget projections assume Zero real Stark assumptions Are made on Domestic spending. There will be no easy cuts from this reduced base Penner says. On the contrary using this base it will be much tougher to find the $38 billion to $40 billion in new and additional reductions to reach the Gramm Rud Man target. Penner makes the key Point when he says we re obviously not fighting about deficits these Days we re fighting about the role of and we Are still searching for politicians at either end of Pennsylvania Avenue who will say that we have to pay for the government we get. Slih Englon poll writers croup t Reagan views storm Clouds through Silver glasses Jimmy Carter had what Ameri cans of All political persuasions Call a failed presidency because Carter himself told us that he was a failure. I shall never forget july 13, 1979, the Day Carter invited 13 of us journalists to Camp David to Tell us that an american malaise a sickness of the National spirit was grip Ping this country. He said he was partly to blame. Ronald Reagan is enjoying what the pollsters suggest is a successful presi Dency mostly because Reagan himself keeps telling americans with great oratorical skill that he is a Success. Occasions like state of the Union addresses were created to Benefit incumbent presidents who could give great Silver lining speeches. No president Ever found More Silver in More dark Clouds than this one. Reagan stood before the american people under circumstances where Ameri cans travelling or living abroad face More Fean and perils than any americans eve before where kidnapped americans in Lebanon Are almost hopelessly forgotten where the Domestic budget deficits Are at mind boggling record highs where the foreign Trade deficit for the year is an astounding $150 billion where the eco nomic Ana social sicknesses of american families Are catalogued in grim statistics of divorce crime illegitimate births drug abuse even when the jails and prisons hold record populations. Against this background or. Reagan boasted of this great America comeback told us that we look out on a rising America firm of heart United in spirit powerful in Pride and unlike Carter Reagan know that even when things Are going to hell americans want to hear the rhetoric of Triumph not talk of a malaise and that Only malcontents will dare ask How Many More of these great american comebacks the country can afford. And1 americans like a Leader with chutzpah or just old fashioned Gall. There is something awesome about a president who in five years never has pro posed a balanced budget to the Congress who has More than doubled the National debt to $2 trillion plus but still professes outrage that we Are swamped in a sea Fred there is a mysterious Charm about a president who piles up the greatest deficits in the nation s history and with out a smile or Grimace Calls for a balanced budget amendment to the Jimmy Carter did t know How Orwan t Craven enough to exploit Public passions and prejudices about welfare and other social programs. Reagan knew How to win applause last week by promising to revise or replace pro Grams enacted in the name of compas Sion that degrade the moral Worth of work encourage family breakups and drive entire communities into a Blea Kand heartless after that kind of eloquence who would be so churlish As to bring up the fact that Reagan s policies have pushed into poverty onto toe welfare Roll Reagan assails at least million More people than were living in poverty when he became president or that Reagan has pursued policies that punished the working poor denied training to poor youngster who were struggling to escape dependency the Reagan presidency a Fol be Over before those who applauded last tuesday night realize that he had glib Tongue but absolutely nothing new m terms of dealing with the problems of americans who need welfare food Stamps and medicaid. C Linn air la sym Lucili to. Opinion in Renud in Rin columns ind cartoons a sslwlT"1?" to " Coni Kurt u it a Tom Rijh. 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