Surprise, surprise! Americans don't want a tax cut ...

WASHINGTON -- Did you ever think American taxpayers would turn up their noses at a tax cut?

Well it happened last year and it appears to be happening again.

Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush is finding that his campaign centerpiece -- a $1.3 trillion tax cut over 10 years -- is a hard sell.

The taxpayers seem to be opting for an alternative, such as the chance to pay down the $3.5 trillion national debt by 2012, a goal set by President Clinton.

Congressional Republicans ran into the same lack of public support in the spring and summer of 1999 when they fanned out across the country to pitch their $792 billion tax slash over 10 years. Clinton vetoed the bill in late September, and the Republicans failed to override his action.

Americans are also apparently wising up this year and are ready to use the bonanza federal surplus to pay off the nation's debts. They obviously learned a lesson when former President Ronald Reagan persuaded Congress to slash taxes across the board while at the same time boosting spending for his huge military buildup. Something had to give. And it did -- causing enormous deficits and a national debt that went through the roof.

It isn't just the taxpayers who are balking at Bush's gift horse. Some moderate Republican lawmakers also are brushing it aside.

As Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle says, the American people "aren't buying these huge tax cuts, and the Republicans are scrambling to get away from them."

The Democrats claim the Bush plan is designed to deepen the pockets of the wealthy and argue that "trickle down" economics won't work.

In a play on Bush's campaign slogan "Leave no child behind," Texas wags have dubbed his tax cut plan: "Leave no millionaire behind."

Speaking of millionaires, U.S. Open winner Venus Williams gave Clinton an earful when he called to congratulate her on her victory. "Can you lower my taxes please?" she asked Clinton. Williams figures that about 55 percent of her $800,000 winning pot will go for federal, state and Social Security taxes. She should complain. If worse comes to worse, she can still live high on the rest of her earnings.

She and other millionaires are the folks who will benefit most from Bush's tax plan.

The voters will have a chance to decide in November how they want to handle the projected $3 trillion surplus.

Bush claims he can pay down the national debt and still give tax breaks. Vice President Al Gore offers targeted tax cuts but focuses more on phasing out the debt and bolstering the solvency of the Social Security system. Bush also claims his proposal will preserve Social Security as well as privatize a portion of it for investment by recipients.

Clinton vetoed measures to gradually eliminate estate taxes and the marriage penalty, and he prevailed when Congress struck out on its override efforts. GOP lawmakers say they will make the vetoes a campaign issue.

It's all boiling down to a question of how we deal with the nation's unprecedented prosperity and how to spread the riches around to make sure those who need help will get it.

We're lucky we have the economic growth and expansion that permits us to think in those terms.

Wisdom, restraint and a vision of what the future portends in this century are needed.

But those ideals are in short supply in an election period. Both presidential candidates are dealing with good times in different ways. For all his proposals to boost government spending on education and the environment, Bush is a disciple of Ronald Reagan's philosophy that the "best government is the least government" and that government is "the problem, not the solution."

Gore believes the federal government has a major role in supporting domestic social programs and that it can solve problems.

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