Budgets: Free Advice on Debtbusting

Though a game, Debtbusters is not exactly fun. In 50 state capitals last week, 16-member teams spent three hours debating ways to cut the federal budget. The game's originator, Roger Molander, president of the Roosevelt Center for American Policy Studies in Washington, staged the marathon as a public- education exercise and an informal plebiscite on the deficit.

The 50-team consensus was to reduce the red ink by a total of about $115 billion. The teams called for raising about $38 billion in taxes; supporting levies on such items as beer, wine and tobacco; cutting $32 billion in defense, including funds for Star Wars; chopping $23 billion from Social Security and other entitlement programs; and taking $21 billion out of domestic programs like farm price supports. Said Senate Budget Chairman Pete Domenici: "They are a couple of steps ahead of us." Of course, none of the participants are running for re-election.