THE PUBLIC MIND: PARTISAN GRIDLOCK IS BUSINESS AS USUAL

To the Editor:

The present partisan "gridlock" is an example of "the pot calling the kettle black." We're observing "business as usual."

The fact of American economic life is that cutting government spending ultimately cuts jobs. Then deficit funded stimulus programs are needed to produce jobs. We get "behinder" and "behinder." The net effect for the last 15-20 years has been the increasing deficit. We still have not come to grips with the moral and ethical values of the necessity of paying our bills.

No constitutional amendment to balance the budget, no line item veto, no term limits will address this problem until we develop the national will to face the reality that "two and two is four." We've been trying to defeat that reality for years. I wonder if even Ross Perot can help us.

Gil Degenhardt

Cape Girardeau