The Virginian-Pilot
                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Friday, October 21, 1994               TAG: 9410210011
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A20  EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   36 lines

CLINTON, ROBB AND THE RICH

What has President Clinton done to make conservatives dislike him so much? He has been careful with his spending and cautious with foreign policy, and his Supreme Court nominees have been moderates.

I suspect his great sin has been to end the free ride that wealthy taxpayers were getting under the Reagan and Bush administrations. Indeed, the battle cry of Republican candidates this fall has been to cut taxes.

But most people are not overburdened with taxes. One hotly contested tax was the gasoline tax, and I believe gasoline is cheaper now than before Clinton took office.

The national debt is now so heavy that much of our tax money is eaten up by interest and never reaches the government. A child can understand that the budget can't be balanced without taxes, yet Republicans promise a happy time (particularly for the rich) with little change in spending and lower taxes for all.

What about the budget? They will fix that, they say, by passing a law against going into debt - the ``balanced budget'' amendment. If it's against the law, it can't happen.

Whatever his faults may be, Sen. Charles Robb is the only candidate I know of who seems to have the faintest idea of what a monumental task it will be to get this country solvent. And whether they like it or not, the fat cats will have to kick in.

EDWARD F. BACON

Virginia Beach, Oct. 14, 1994 by CNB