The June 4 letter, “Obama’s bookkeeping creative, short of reality” attributes to Barack Obama a “75 percent increase in national debt, from $9 trillion to nearly $16 trillion.”
Googling “national debt by year” reveals $10.6 trillion in the month of the most recent presidential inauguration and $15.7 trillion last month.
Half of 10.6 is 5.3, which added to 10.6 equals 15.9. Hence the June 4 letter should be corrected to say “almost 50 percent increase in national debt.”
It is not realistic to expect immediate major turnaround in debt in view of so many obligations from previous years.
US News & World Report on Dec. 15 stated, “Unlike any previous war in U.S. history, (the war in Iraq) was paid for entirely by debt at the same time that we cut taxes.”
This article also states that veterans’ healthcare and disability costs will be about half a trillion dollars annually.
Roger E. Condit
Farmington
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