Don’t Just Blame Congress

Why is it that so many people don’t seem to understand our government? Professor of Business Earl F. Cheit’s article is titled “Gramm-Rudman: The New Year’s Resolution Congress Is Sure to Break” (Jan. 5).

The title is a good summary of the article, which blames Congress for the budget problems, and he predicts Congress will break the Gramm-Rudman Act. He probably knows the facts behind the current budget problems. He probably knows that the President submits a budget to Congress, which Congress tinkers around with, then votes on and sends to the President for his approval. He must realize that Congress very seldom gets a budget passed that differs significantly from the President’s. He must realize that, under the present Administration, both the deficits and the national debt have grown dramatically.

Why does Professor Cheit blame Congress? Is it because he is unwilling to face the fact that our military budget bears very little resemblance to our real defense needs?

Is it that he is unwilling to see that the Administration was unwilling to pay for its voracious military appetite except with a credit card? Did he forget that, in 1980, the present Administration promised us reduced taxes, improved security, a good economy, decreased unemployment, decreased inflation and a balanced budget? The federal budget deficit is a direct result of the actions that the Administration took to implement those promises.

I suppose it is only fair to say that Congress was a party to the problem. They didn’t have the courage to stand up to a very popular President who was promising the public economic miracles. But, then, who has the courage to commit professional suicide, which is what the members of Congress would have been doing if they had denied the President his attempt at miracle making?

RICHARD FOY

Redondo Beach