IT'S TIME TO PUSH THE BUSH ECONOMIC VISION

George W. Bush's budget plan, outlined in his message to Congress last week, is simple, correct and doable. If ... .

Bush proposed new spending, tax cuts, protection for Social Security and Medicare and elimination of all the national debt that can possibly be paid off. So what's wrong with his plan?

Democrats, of course, want other spending priorities. They want bigger tax cuts for lower-income taxpayers. Most of all, they want to win control of Congress next year, and opposing the president's plan is the only way they can set themselves apart.

The Democratic refrain about giving tax cuts to the rich is growing tiresome. An equitable tax cut is one that lowers the burden on every taxpaying American. Those who pay the most taxes -- the rich in this nation pay most of the bill -- deserve the same relief as those who pay the least. Why should anyone be targeted unfairly? The notion that those who pay most of the taxes shouldn't get any relief while those who pay far less should stop paying anything at all just doesn't make sense.

The big question mark, of course, is what the economy is going to do over the next 10 years. Everything Bush proposed hinges on forecasts that anticipate continued growth, with more jobs, more personal income, more investment, more consumption -- and more tax revenue, even though tax rates are lower.

The Bush plan addresses the uncertainty about the future. He wants a cushion to take care of the unexpected. And there it is in his budget package outlined to Congress.

At the end of the Clinton administration, the nation received a bundle of good news about surpluses and projections for even bigger surpluses in coming years. Democrats applauded those reports, even as some economic indicators began to signal caution.

Now Democrats are developing a cautionary -- and self-serving -- sensitivity to the uncertainties of future economic forecasts. They are saying the Bush economic plan is dangerous, because we don't know what the economy is going to be like next year, much less a decade from now. And they are absolutely correct.

But the fact remains the Democrats have plans of their own to spend trillions of dollars in the next 10 years. If Democrats do, indeed, take over the House and Senate next year, you can bet your bottom dollar they will be talking about projected surpluses and new spending programs.

Both Republicans and Democrats know the forecasts are no more than best guesses. But that's how we make decisions in this country. Every indication is that the Bush plan would rekindle a sluggish economy and stave off inflation. This is the time to move ahead, not wallow in second-guessing.