Texas In aiming to cut the deficit while reducing taxes, Congress is burning the candle of misrepresentation at both ends. Promising to scale back the growth of the Medicare program by 2002 by cutting benefits today is burning the candle at both ends and in the middle. It is the height of hypocrisy. The staggering U.S. budget deficit and the danger it poses to coming generations are alarming. Congress must exercise caution, however.
Drastic measures can cause widespread unemployment and boost the crime rate.
They could endanger the lives of children whose families rely on government assistance. Perhaps they could agree to a salary reduction or a shorter workweek rather than find themselves totally out of a job and unable to support their families. The deficit-reduction gyrations of Congress will be taken seriously only when every factor contributing to the deficit is considered. All taxpayers, regardless of age or income, are in this fiscal mess together. All of us, including participants in the currently sacrosanct Social Security and Medicare, should share equitably in carrying and possibly reducing the burden of this financial sack of rocks.