BENTSEN

TAX CUT IN THE OFFING: The Clinton Administration gave a strong signal today that it would support amiddle class tax cut-- provided the federal deficit doesn't grow as a result. Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen said that he wanted "a tax cut for middle-income Americans, but something of that nature must be properly paid for." Bentsen's remarks, made to a group of U.S. and European legislators, are consistent with Clinton's pre-election economic plan, saysTIME economics reporter Suneel Ratan. With his remarks today, Bentsen's simply trying to impress upon the GOP's more centrist members that before their party's more radical wing hacks away at revenue sources, they must recognize that "there's no such thing as a free lunch," Ratan says.Post your opinion on theWashingtonbulletin board.