IT'S TIME TO MAKE THOSE DEEP CUTS

Those who debate proposed tax cuts seem to fall into two camps: Those who think deep cuts will produce more federal revenue in the long run, and those who think paying off the national debt is the first -- and, possibly, only -- priority.

Both sides, of course, assume there will be enough surpluses over the next decade to pay for tax cuts or retiring the debt, which currently stands at $3 trillion.

But the latest surplus forecasts strongly indicate that this isn't an either-or debate. Clear-thinking advocates on both sides are starting to agree that the nation can afford to pay down the national debt and cut taxes.

In just the past few months, estimates of future surpluses for the next 10 years have jumped dramatically. Last July, the Congressional Budget Office foresaw $2.17 trillion in surpluses through 2011. Last week, the CBO revised that estimate nearly a trillion dollars higher to $3.12 trillion.

Let's try to get a handle on $3.12 trillion.

It would create a stack of $100 bills 2,228.6 miles high.

Put another way, $3.12 trillion in $100 bills would weigh 34,361 tons.

It's hard to imagine that much money, much less be able to grasp a prediction of how much extra the federal government is going to generate in the next 10 years.

Of course, this rosy forecast depends entirely on a strong economy. And CBO experts say they are fully aware of the current sluggishness, which Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan says puts economic growth at about zero for the last quarter of 2000.

But those same CBO forecasters say there is every reason to believe the economy will maintain its overall strength in the coming years. That view was bolstered last week by the Fed's reduction in interest rates, the second such cut in less than a month.

More than that, Greenspan told the Senate Budget Committee last week that he now favors "deep" tax cuts as part of an overall economic strategy. This is a reversal from the Fed chairman's long-held position that the U.S. economy would best be served by using the bulk of the surpluses to pay off the national debt.

But, as Greenspan noted, the latest surplus forecasts clearly indicate that tax cuts can be made and pay off the debt.

There are still some doubters who fear the anticipated surpluses rely on excess payments into the Social Security system. These cautious folks worry that "borrowing" money from Social Security -- to prop up surplus forecasts -- amounts to fiscal ineptitude. And they would be right except for the fact the $3.12 trillion is exclusive of Social Security surpluses over the same decade.

For the millions of Baby Boomers who will start retiring at the end of that decade, this is, indeed, good news. In fact, the CBO expects the Social Security Administration Trust Fund to see $2.49 trillion in surpluses over the next 10 years -- an amount that adds considerable breathing room to the old-age retirement system whose future was questionable a short time ago.

Although Greenspan's view of tax cuts has changed, he hasn't gone so far as endorsing President Bush's proposed $1.6 trillion tax-cut package over 10 years. The amount of tax cuts, Greenspan correctly acknowledges, is a political decision.

At the political center of this debate are Congress and the White House. Bush made it clear throughout his campaign that he thought Americans are entitled to huge tax cuts. Now that he is in office, he hasn't backed away from that view. It's up to Congress to follow through on those reductions.

Just as Greenspan sees a clear rationale for lowering interest rates to revive the current economic slump, representatives and senators now have an unobstructed view of the necessity for reducing the national tax burden.

The economic forecasts are there. The figures point to excess revenue that exceeds both the national debt and the cost of huge tax cuts. Social Security is in equally good shape. The nation has enjoyed surpluses since 1998.

With all of this in place, let's get on with the tax cuts Americans so richly deserve.