THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, April 9, 1995                  TAG: 9504070034
SECTION: COMMENTARY               PAGE: J4   EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   35 lines

SAVE, DON'T SPEND

Regarding the column by Thomas Friedman concerning ``tough trade talk with Japan'' (Perspectives, March 29): Mr. Friedman points out that the major problem for the United States is Japanese trade barriers. While I will not argue that there could be a relaxation of Japanese trade barriers, the problem does not lie outside our own shores.

The real problem for the United States is that we are a consuming society and, consequently, one that does not save. Even if Japan eliminated all of its trade barriers, I highly doubt that Japan could consume an amount of products that would come close to the amount we consume in America.

What we need to start doing is consuming less and saving more. All it takes is just being a little more thrifty and stop paying for everything with a credit card and getting a false sense of how much you can afford to spend each month. Once those credit card bills are paid off, start putting away some money and get on the positive side of interest rates instead of the negative.

While these few ideas may not cure completely the deficit problem, it is hard to argue that they would not be beneficial to the economy of our country. It's time we stop blaming other countries for our problems and get back in the game.

MICHAEL J. BIEL

Chesapeake, March 30, 1995 by CNB