For those upset at the economy under President Obama, please consider this. We have been building a house of cards for 30 years:

1.) Retail stores expanded to more than double what our population could sustain.

2.) Poor regulation allowed 12 percent of American families to purchase a home who were not solidly qualified.

3.) Starting with President Reagan, tax cuts have excited voters. But spending always increased so the “cuts” were really tax deferrals. Those deferrals are now due, with interest.

4.) Neither party has shown much fiscal restraint. They will not until we, the voters, trim our expectations and are willing to pay the nation’s bills.

5.) Predictions of a $1.6 trillion deficit for 2009 were made before we knew who would be elected. Obama got it down to $1.3 trillion. Numerous years of trillion-dollar deficits are part of that card house.

6.) Mark Zandi, an economic adviser for Sen. John McCain, says Obama’s rescue helped us avoid the loss of 17 million jobs, unemployment around 16.5 percent and an annual deficit of over $2 trillion.

Democracy depends on a well-informed electorate combined with passion. Lacking that in the biggest power on Earth, the whole world pays the price.

Larry Winters

Cheney