Selective amnesia

Charles Krauthammer stated in his column (July 30), “Obama faces two massive problems – jobs and debt. They’re both the result of his … massive spending that left us … a staggering debt burden.”

After reading Krauthammer, watching the Republicans on television and reading some letters to the paper, I believe Republicans must all practice selective amnesia.

When Barack Obama took office in 2009, he inherited a $10 trillion deficit. During Bush’s eight years in office, Republicans voted to raise the debt limit seven times without question. Now they are holding grandparents and disabled people hostage because they don’t seem to understand that the current debt is money borrowed to pay previous expenditures, including tax breaks for the wealthy and unfunded wars. At the present time our deficit is $14 trillion and it is made up of recessions (37 percent), policies enacted by Bush (33 percent), policies enacted by Bush and extended by Obama (20 percent), and new policies from President Obama (10 percent).

Also in Saturday’s paper was an article about Chevron posting its largest profit since 2008. I wonder where the “trickle down” went. Has anyone noticed if the Republicans, since taking over the House, have created any jobs?

Janet Callen

Coeur d’Alene