‘Monster Out of Control’

Your editorial (July 31), “Monster Out of Control,” raised what appears to be the hidden motivation behind the Reagan Administration’s failure to address the swelling deficit. The editorial correctly pointed out that the President may have “deliberately allowed the deficit to soar as a ploy for paring away at the federal establishment, eliminating programs that have served the nation well.”

The President figures that if he refuses to raise taxes and permits the deficit to reach dangerous proportions, as it has now, the House and Senate will have no choice but to dramatically scale back federal spending, and by doing so, further reduce the role the federal government plays in our daily lives. It is a shrewd but dangerous strategy.

While we need to reduce spending and be more prudent with tax money, the current deficit, projected at more than $230 billion, is a time bomb ticking away.

Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker recently testified that there was a limit to the Fed’s ability to keep interest rates down by controlling the money supply and that soon rates would have to climb, pressured by unprecedented federal borrowing. When that happens, the budget gap will have to be closed or soaring interest rates could drive the nation’s economy into a deep recession.

Before that occurs, the Reagan Administration should leave politics aside and start looking for real solutions that consider a number of budget reduction tactics, not simply cuts in domestic programs. The Administration should be reminded that billions have already been cut from these programs, much at the expense of the disabled and others who, for no fault of their own, depend on government help. If the President is so insistent about not raising taxes, then he has an obligation to consider cutting his own “pet” programs, as well as others.

Playing political poker is part of the legislative process. But when the stakes are the economic health and vitality of the nation, maybe it’s time to put the cards away.

DAVID M. PAINE

Newport Beach