THE PUBLIC MIND: WHY DO THEY CLAIM TO NEED MORE MONEY TO OPERATE WHEN WE HAVE TO LIVE ON LESS?

Correction: ADDRESS SHOULD BE CAPE GIRARDEAU, NOT JACKSON.

To the Editor:

Has a~~~nyone had that n~~~agging feeling of worry a~s you watch the needle~ on your fuel gauge near the ~~"empt~~y" mar~k, and ~now that you have to somehow mak~e that ga~s last until your next paycheck ~still two day~ away? Can you afford a ~~substantial~ incre~ase in the price of ga~soline?

Do you pay your utility, sewer, insurance, phone bills the day they come in the mail, or do you juggle them to coincide with your payday~ a~s I do? ~Am I the only one who must decide while bill is the most important and which can wait until it is pushing the ~~"Delinquent Afte~~r" date? Do other people ~keep their thermostats se~t at lower temperatures than they actually find comfortable and wear sweaters around the house, just to keep their utility bills a little lower?

The tax and energy consumption included in the tax package proposed by President Clinton should be of great concern to anyone who answered ~~"yes"~~ to any of th~~ese questions. On budgets already tightened by job loss~, layoffs~ or just being told ~"No raise ~this year~~," the additional s~tress of added energy costs will put the greatest burden on those of us least able to bear it.

That~'s just the energy consumption tax. We must also consider the incom~e tax. When did $30,000 a year become rich? ~Thirty thou~sand dollars may seem like a lot of money for a ~single person. It may even be comfortable for a couple with no children. ~But $30,000~ for a family with se~veral ~children to feed, clothe, provide medic~al and dental care for, and a decent house or apartment ~with sufficie~nt heat is certainly not "rich."

During the primary election and the ca~mpaign, Mr. Clinton spoke of tax increases on the top 2~ percent of American incomes~~~. Then it became income~~s over $200,000 per year. Then $100,000. Now it is $30,000. What happ~ene~d? The budget deficit which he blames for this is actually lo~wer than ~the figure he used during his campaign when he promised to cut this deficit in half. He stated repeated~ly, ~~"I will not raise ~taxes on the~ mid~dle~ cl~~ass." He even bought votes with promises of middle class tax relief a~nd "~f~ree~~" hea~l~t~h~~ car~e~~. I have new~s for you: N~othing is free.~ We will pay for any health care program the government implements with our hard-earned paychecks!

Do not be deceived. All this talk of ~~"shared sacrifice"~ is just an emotional trick the ~~admin~istration i~s trying to play on u~s. What do you think the members~~ of C~ongress~ really know about "sacrific~e"? What do you think Bill and Hillary know about ~~sharing your~ pain~~? How many time~s in Mr. Clinton~'s life do you~ think he looked at his gas gauge and worried that he might not make it to his next payc~heck? How many times has Hillary had to decide which bill to pay and which c~ould wait until next payday?

To your~ ~~"shared sac~rific~~e" may mean ~macaroni and cheese dinners instead of meat, buying your kids'~ school clothes at a second-hand store, or not taking them to the dentist because you just do not have the money.

To them, it means taking the Caddy in~stead of the Limo, serving domestic caviar in~stead of imported at their next party, or firing some office wor~kers~ with families to support and calling it staff reduction~ (thus putting a few more people in the une~mpl~oyment lines).

It is not too late! You can still stop this plan! Write to your senators and representatives and let them know how you feel. One 29-cent stamp could save you an awful low of money in the future!

How can they claim they need more money to operate, and still expect us to live on less?

Jean Hermsdorfer

Jackson