DEBT: Heed senators' advice

Stop this hypocritical debate and use some common sense to keep the United States from very soon falling over the cliff in indebtedness, as both our good Idaho Senators are warning us will happen soon.

Wondering how to cut to help balance the budget? Is America aware that "cutting" is already in effect with Social Security, Veterans benefits and some others. These mostly elderly are in their third year now without ANY increases in income. But all their expenses continue to climb. Most of us would be glad to take our cuts if everyone else would take the same percentage of cutting.

Are we going to keep up this credit game until this nation goes the way all other great cultures have gone, or worse? I have a three-step suggestion:

1. Freeze EVERYTHING for just one month. I mean prices of all goods, wages, taxes, interest rates, entitlements - everything. Every transaction. This would simply produce a general wake-up. Mobilize the nation! Disaster lurks!

2. Then for the next six months roll back every price, every transaction in the United States just 10 percent. This still would do nothing yet toward balancing the budget. But if every last one of us took the same amount of cut we would hurt no more than our elderly are now hurting. By this time we might be able to face the reality that human generations have ignored. Study getting real.

3. By this time we should be educated in basic finances enough to make fair adjustments and start paying our debts. It could take up to half of all our income for the next 10 years to service our indebtedness and cancel out all we owe, public and private.

Remember the basics: If the price of every transaction is cut no one will be hurt more than the other.

EARL D. HUNTER

Coeur d'Alene