The irony is almost too much to handle. The same party that allowed the federal deficit to skyrocket into the trillions in the 1980s has changed course and called for a constitutional amendment requiring the government to balance the budget by 2002.

Republican legislators and the few Democrats who agree with them have pulled off the ultimate act of political deceit and trickery. They have told the public that it should support a balanced budget because it will cure our country's economic problems. What they have neglected to tell the public, however, is the truth. And the truth is that a balanced budget amendment will not work.

The federal deficit is growing out of hand. As it accumulates, the government is forced to throw more and more money into interest payments on which it cannot default. Every dollar that is used for interest is a dollar that cannot be used for valuable social programs such as education and welfare.

But a balanced budget amendment, a key peg in the Republican's "Contract With America," is merely a temporary cosmetic provision to give the public the false impression that the deficit will be eliminated.

If and when the amendment is passed, lawmakers will have to make impossible political decisions in order to cut the enormous amount of spending necessary to achieve a balanced budget. Some of the suggested cuts include the National Endowment for the Arts, public broadcasting and student loans. It is very unlikely that lawmakers will be able to create a majority that will sacrifice those pet projects.

Lawmakers must realize that they have already dug themselves a hole by promising, in another part of the "Contract," to cut taxes. Even if they are able to cut spending, the government will be taking in less revenue, which translates into a budget that is still unbalanced.

And if by some divine miracle the federal government is able to balance the budget, legislators will be left with the question of what to do if a deficit returns. Endless court battles are likely to follow and chances are the problem will start again.

The American public must realize that lawmakers' idea of an economic problem is actually a political problem. This country needs legislators who are not afraid to tax, but also who are not afraid to reform the system so that the public sees the results of its payments.

It's time for politicians to stop brainwashing and start cleaning up for real.