IT'S TIME TO TALK SERIOUSLY ABOUT CUTTING CAPITAL GAINS TAX

The White House's opposition to a Republican plan to cut taxes doesn't come as a surprise. After all, President Clinton's proposals to balance the budget -- two years after his term expires -- relies on tax increases with some trimming here and there.

But the Republican plan to cut taxes deserves more than a brush-off from the president. If nothing else, there should be some talks first in the spirit of a bipartisan agreement between the administration and GOP congressional leaders to cooperate and stop bickering.

The GOP proposes to reduce capital-gains taxes and expand Individual Retirement Accounts, which amounts to a tax cut for participants. Clinton's criticism of both ideas rests largely on the umbrella opposition that these plans only benefit the rich and don't help Americans at the other end.

That is an argument the president frequently uses to oppose otherwise good ideas. And the worst of it is that too much of the American public buys that excuse without question.

In fact, both ideas benefit all levels of American taxpayers. Lowering the tax on capital gains provides an incentive for even more investment in the economic well-being of the nation: more jobs, more products at reasonable prices, more opportunities for enjoying the American dream. And allowing U.S. workers to put more of their earnings in IRAs, thus avoiding taxes as they build retirement funds, is a tax benefit for anyone who wants to participate.

More and more Americans are sinking further and further into the morass of debt, much of it fueled by easy credit-card limits. What they need is an incentive to spend fewer of the dollars they don't have and take something out of their paychecks on a regular basis for savings. The IRA plan is just one facet of that.

It would be nice to think President Clinton was sincere when he grabbed the nation's headlines by promising to work with the Republican Congress to address critical national issues. His attacks on the capital-gains tax and IRAs don't indicate he was.