Surplus

The way I see it, the Republican majority in Congress wants to use the surplus for a tax cut, so that people will spend the money and create jobs. At the same time, the Federal Reserve Board says there aren’t enough workers to fill the jobs we already have without bringing on inflation and is raising interest rates to cool down the economy and reduce the demand for workers (July 1).

The Democratic administration, on the other hand, wants to use the surplus to pay off the national debt, which is supposed to keep interest rates down. But then there is that Fed, which is deliberately raising interest rates.

Am I missing something here?

LEROY MILLER

West Hills

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“We have now cut up Washington’s credit card,” President Clinton said (June 29). Regular citizens are very focused on how they are going to pay off their credit card debt when they take this action. Obviously, Washington doesn’t think like regular Americans. Not a word is ever heard about paying down the almost $5-trillion national debt. This is particularly puzzling when they are all trying to figure out ways to spend the $100-billion-plus surplus.

JACK CASSON

Claremont