SACRIFICE? LET CONGRESS GO FIRST

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, March 8, 1993                   TAG: 9303080757
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short
SACRIFICE? LET CONGRESS GO FIRST
TO HELP REDUCE the national debt, all of us are expected to bite the bullet. How droll. We don't need more than a milligram of brain matter to see that our representatives in Washington's marble halls brought on this national mayhem. But they'll deny having any part in it by blaming their forerunners.
All of us would like to feather our nests, but what goes on in our nation's heartland is ridiculous. Isn't it odd how, when running for office, a politician will spend far more money than the job pays once in. Think of the perks that go with the job! And once in, he begins to perpetuate himself in office by pandering to the whims of constituents who cry for all kinds of handouts for their district.
Much of the debt could be reduced if the representatives got a 50-percent pay cut. The president wants us to adopt a "shared sacrifice" attitude. Fine, if the representatives would start the ball rolling by being the first to pay. Each office they hold costs the taxpayers $1 million, so just think how much they could help by slashing their expenses to the bone. Most taxpayers have already done so.
In the future, all newly elected representatives should be initiated into that fraternity by a baseball-bat whack across the head to get their attention. Then, let them know that their duties in office are to the nation, and they should be the last to feed at the trough.
All of the above would require people of high moral standards and integrity, but where can we look for such people? We are in a fix. Watch for the upcoming taxes. ROGER MITCHELL BLUE RIDGE

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB