HUGE SURPLUSES PAVE THE WAY FOR HUGE TAX CUTS

Look at those numbers. The size of federal surpluses forecast for the next 10 years -- already massive to begin with -- keep getting bigger and bigger.

Just last month the White House more than doubled its own prediction to $1.87 trillion. That's right: trillion. Then this week the nonpartisan Congression Budget Office issued its own forecast of $2.17 trillion in surpluses by the time 2010 rolls around.

That's certainly good news. And optimistic too. All of these forecasts assume the U.S. economy will keep humming for another 10 years. There's no reason to believe the economy won't remain strong for another decade, but every glowing forecast needs to be tempered with at least a few words of caution.

The huge surpluses, by the way, do not -- do not -- include any of the Social Security trust funds. Let's make this perfectly clear. Social Security also expects to see some pretty healthy surpluses, provided the economy stays healthy. But the amounts being touted by the White House and CBO do not include those excess funds. Nor should they. In the past, it was all too easy to dip into those dollars to make the federal budget look good. There's no need for that, and taxpayers certainly deserve to have a clear picture of the nation's financial situation.

Of course, such big numbers make a politician salivate faster than the smell of skillet-fried chicken and country gravy.

And those surpluses cut across political lines too. With such numbers in hand, it will be difficult for Democrats to argue convincingly that elimination of the death tax or the income-tax marriage penalty will break the federal treasury. And it will hard for Republicans to argue convincingly against President Clinton's proposal to add prescription drugs to Medicare benefits although a strong case could be made for paying for this extra benefit for the elderly from surpluses in Social Security trust funds.

And it will be difficult for anyone to argue with George W. Bush's plan to cut more than $1.3 trillion in taxes over 10 years the same period covered by the rosy surplus forecasts. There is no doubt that Republican-backed tax cuts since the 1980s have contributed enormously to the current economic boom. Likewise, additional tax reductions would be a major factor in fueling the economy for the next 10 years.

There will be some taxpayers and politicians who will argue that surpluses should be spent on reducing the nation's debt (not to be confused with the nation's deficit, which no longer exists, thanks to the recent surpluses). While paying off the debt is certainly important, there is no need to trade surpluses for debt reduction. Rather, using surpluses to offset tax cuts will produce far more revenue for the federal government -- this has been proven over and over again -- that can be used to pay off the debt.

This is an opportunity that's going to get a lot of attention -- and a lot of knocks -- during the current election year. Don't be fooled by those who say you can't cut taxes when you have huge surpluses and a gigantic national debt. Tax cuts produce revenue surpluses. That's what we want.