thought President Reagan’s

thought President Reagan’s proposals were absurd.

Now we are in a new season of federal budget making. Again by the President, new social program budget cuts have been proposed and increased military expenditures requested. The cuts are focused on the poor. Programs targeted to help them constitute less than 10 percent of the budget, but new requested cuts for programs to help the poor are asked at a rate of 44 percent. By contrast, programs helping citizens at large are scheduled for l'/j percent cuts.

1 write now to comment on what we can expect. In contrast to last year, when members of the President's party and a number of Democrats crowded forward to do the President’s bidding, this year Congress is fleeing the President and has rejected out of hand his proposed budget. There are serious moves to rescind some of the tax cuts made last year. Several congressional groups and individuals are making alternative budgetary suggestions to start an economic recovery everyone feels is urgent in the face of a declining economy aggravated by last year’s legislation. One of the most useful to keep an eye on will be that of the Congressional Joint Economic Committee.

It would be surprising to see a complete reversal of policies by Congress in one year - see the cuts of last year restored, military expenditures cut, and the taxgive-aways to the well-to-do and corporations revoked, but it will not be surprising to see Congress do something along those lines. The reason: this is an election year and Republican and Democratic office holders believe that whatever support President Reagan had just after his election is dissolving rapidly.

Changed Congressional attitudes are owing to polls Republicans have been taking and to a significant poll made jointly at the end of 1981 by the Democratic National Compiittee, and the

House and Senate Campaign