Rosy economic outlook

There is a lot of irresponsible talk going around about the economy. The Congressional Budget Office predicts that the United States deficit will hit $172 billion by the end of the fiscal year. That sounds wild. But what sounds even wilder: Washington has been thinking of making pink one-dollar bills. It's enough to make the picture of George Washington blush.

If printing pink dollars is in any way related to women getting into politics , the men had better begin digging trenches for a last stand on Pennsylvania Avenue. The next step will be money designed by Christian Dior and scented by Guerlain or Nina Ricci.

Scented money might be an advantage in catching a bank robber with a satchel full of bills, but it might also clog the crowded subways with fainting bodies.

A pink dollar bill is un-American. It is like painting the White House orchid. Next thing, the Washington monument would be done in shades of apricot.

Can anyone logically consider working with a national budget consisting of over a trillion pink dollars? It is bad enough thinking about all that money in shades of cool green. A lot of green money is soothing, but pink money would end up being inflationary.

The excuse for all this pinko talk may be based on a theory that because of credit cards, the average American has forgotten what a dollar looks like. In a few years he may no longer be able to distinguish the denomination of a bill by the number in the corners. The spender merely pulls out a pink bill if he needs one dollar and a blue bill if he needs 20 dollars.

Sometimes old ways are better; they give a feeling of security. Stability. The term ''greenback'' gives one a warm feeling.

Saying ''pinkfront'' could never be the same.