MISSOURI SENATOR SENSES SEA CHANGE IN CAPITAL

A shift in "government culture" at the federal left has precipitated a move toward less government spending, says Sen. John Ashcroft, R-Mo.

Prior to the 1960s, liberty typically was defined as freedom within the limits of responsibility, Ashcroft said. Since then, liberty increasingly has come to mean the freedom to behave unfettered by consequences.

And, the senator said, that irresponsibility has carried over into the government sector.

"We have finally come to the conclusion that we did exercise freedom irresponsibly with our spending practices," Ashcroft said.

The senator made his comments Wednesday morning during a meeting with the Southeast Missourian's editorial board.

Though media attention, particularly at the national level, often focuses on the Republican Congress' failures and its budget stalemate with President Clinton, things are changing, Ashcroft said.

"I submit it has not been politics as usual in the past year," he said. "If that was so, Congress would have folded its tents in October and given Bill Clinton a blank check."

Though most Americans might not realize it, the Senate has been much busier than usual. During the first five years of the 1990s, the Senate had 320 votes a year. In 1995, it nearly doubled that number with 620 votes, Ashcroft said.

The major source of disagreement in government is deciding whether to reform key entitlement programs such as welfare and Medicare. Those programs and other entitlements make up the fastest growing part of the federal budget.

"Everyone is willing to recognize problems," Ashcroft said. "Not everyone is willing to change the structure."

Quoting a former industrialist, Ashcroft said the spending problems are inherent in federal government. "Your system is designed to give you what you are getting, and I think this is true," he said.

And yet few within or outside government believe government programs are working, or that taxpayers are getting their money's worth.

"My feeling is one of the main structures Congress has to change so the system can give us something else is the concept of entitlements," Ashcroft said.

Entitlement programs now provide automatic benefits to anyone who meets certain criteria. As a result, the programs inevitably grow. Transferring entitlement spending into block grants or a similar system, forces programs instead to work within a finite budget.

"The Republican system is a system of control," said Ashcroft. "The Democratic system is a system of entitlement."

Many in government, of course, oppose shifting power and responsibilities to the state. Among those, Ashcroft said, are federal workers, who compose 43 percent of all union members nationally. A shift to non-unionized state employees would reduce union influence.

Whether Congress and the president can agree on a budget soon depends on politics. Ashcroft believes the president will continue to stall the budget process for as long as he thinks he can score political points.

In the meantime, the temporary measures that allow the government to continue operating will allow Republicans to attain their goal of a balanced budget in seven years, Ashcroft said.