It's been a bad time for good Debate. Thomas B. Reed, speaker of the House a century ago, once remarked of two woeful colleagues that "they never open their mouths without subtracting from the sum of human knowledge." The same can be said of the budget debate. The longer it lasts, the more confused the public becomes. We are bombarded by baffling numbers, slogans and programs. There may not be a conspiracy between President Clinton and the Congress to confound the public, but the effect is the same. This ought not be. What Americans need to know about budget surpluses—and what ought to be done with them—is straightforward. Let's review (again) the essentials.
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机译：对于良好的辩论来说，这是一个糟糕的时刻。一个世纪前的众议院议长托马斯·B·里德（Thomas B. Reed）曾对两名可怜的同事说过：“他们从来没有张开嘴，不减去人类知识的总和。”预算辩论也可以这样说。持续时间越长，公众就越困惑。令人困惑的数字，口号和程序轰炸了我们。克林顿总统和国会之间可能没有阴谋混淆公众，但是效果是一样的。这不应该。美国人需要知道的关于预算盈余的内容，以及应该如何处理。让我们再次回顾要点。
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