Letter: National debt gymnastics

As a political independent who did not vote for either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, I find the intellectual gymnastics partisans use hilarious and disgusting. Daily News columnist Nick Gier trumpets the wonderful job Democrats did lowering the deficit under President Barack Obama (His View, Dec. 7). The retired logician masterfully performs a sleight of hand, shifting the conversation from the national debt to the deficit.

The U.S. debt doubled in eight years under the Democrats. On Jan. 20, 2009, when Obama was sworn in, the debt was $10.626 trillion. On Jan. 20, 2017, when he left, it was $19.947 trillion. We added over $9 trillion to the debt, more than any other administration in history.

The numbers are astronomical. But remove eight zeroes and pretend it's a household budget (source: usdebtclock.org):

• Annual family income: $33,561
• Money the family spent: $40,244
• New debt on the credit card: $6,683
• Outstanding balance on the credit card: $205,961
• Family budget cuts last year: $441

Democrats made family budget cuts of $441 while running the credit card up from $100,000 to $200,000, and bought new toys with payments starting in 2017.

I understand this is macroeconomics versus microeconomics, but these numbers are unsustainable regardless.

And now a Republican is in office, Gier and the Democrats suddenly get religion about the debt? And simultaneously the Republicans do not care about the debt? A pox on both their houses.

These bills will come due on the shoulders of our children and grandchildren. The national debt per taxpayer is currently $170,000, and the U.S. total debt per family is $820,000. I do not know who we think is going to pay this off. If you confiscated 100 percent of the wealth from everyone in the U.S., it still wouldn't cover the debt.

Dale Courtney

Moscow