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

DATE: Friday, December 2, 1994               TAG: 9412020004
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A20  EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   46 lines

STILL, IT'S THE ECONOMY. WHY?

What is going on in the U.S. economy?

Clinton administration officials say the United States is better off today than for the past 12 years or so.

Then I read that every major industry in the country is laying off thousands and thousands of employees, and still more to come. Where are all those people now? Were they shipped to outer space? All or most of the goods on the shelves in department stores are made in Asia or some other foreign country - TVs, cameras, telephones and a host of other goods.

The economy is booming, so Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan decides enough is enough and raises interest rates - again. That's the sixth time in 1994. Is that a record? He's going to stop inflation one way or the other if he has to put the whole country on unemployment insurance.

He is responsible indirectly for the slowdown of housing and home buying. When those two are curtailed, the domino effect on the economy follows. Lumber, nails, plumbing supplies, furniture and a multitude of other things essential to housing lose sales. A lot of those products are made in America.

The headlines in the Business section are sad commentary of a booming economy. One report reads: ``1994 is shaping up to be the nation's 2nd worst year ever.''

That's encouraging news. Is no one buying our products? Or is it because U.S. companies that moved into Asia are selling their products, made with cheap labor, back to us? Carter, Reagan and Bush can share some of the blame for that. If there had been a good stiff tax on products made and shipped to the United States by those companies, I'm sure that would have slowed down the exodus.

Unfair trade? Yes, it is, Japan's been doing it for years and years.

I'm quite certain that the unemployed who are destitute and looking for work wouldn't mind absorbing a little inflation.

President Clinton is right: It's ``the economy, stupid'' - but it doesn't seem to be getting any smarter.

TED MacDONALD

Portsmouth, Nov. 19, 1994 by CNB