A Misleading Letter in the Star Democrat

Regarding the February 15 letter in the Star Democrat, "This kind of change is unwanted":

Under Bush II, gasoline prices ran from $1.46 at inauguration to $4 in 2008 - three and a half times the increase the writer bitterly decries under President Obama! In 2008, the financial collapse - brought to us by the GOP - took our economy over a cliff; millions of jobs, and consumer demand, went with it. The crash in demand saw gas prices plunge to $1.61 only in the last days of the Bush administration. For that, your correspondent sends W a valentine?

A collapsing economy kills millions of jobs, cuts the hours of millions more, and somebody is shocked that, as a result, more people need assistance? File that under "Duh".

Over 2/3 of our national debt accumulated under the last three Republican presidents, over 40% from the Bush II administration alone. That debt continues as a result of his two disastrous wars of choice, and the GOP insistence on paying for them by cutting millionaires' taxes. Now that writer's numbers grow fragrant.

While our population has grown, and with it the size of the federal payroll, the number of federal employees per US citizen has decreased by 6% under president Obama, and hasn't been consistently this low since the 1970s.

Your correspondent served us a dog's breakfast of connivingly selected data. This deception, using superficially authoritative "numbers" relies on an audience's ignorance or disinclination to verify. Information – instead of "numbers" – tells a different story.