Emergency declaration is a distraction

Carolyn Moen thinks Democrats are being hypocritical by denying President Donald Trump $5 billion for a wall when they allowed debt under President Barack Obama to rise nearly $9 trillion ('Democrats should give in on the wall,” Feb. 15).

Clearly Moen forgets Obama walked into the worst financial crisis since the stock market crash of 1929. But, more important, if we compare percentage growth, the increase under Obama's watch was 74 percent while under President George W. Bush it rose 101 percent. Trump is already on pace to add nearly $5 trillion dollars in only one term in office.

The issue is not about whether Democrats are being hypocritical about spending, it's whether the wall is a smart idea. Those actually in a position to judge the effectiveness of the wall say there is no crisis and a wall will not do the job. It also will create environmental and humanitarian disasters.

Moen says democrats simply want to tax, and points to the Affordable Care Act as proof. The CBO said the ACA lowered our budget deficit by $143 million between 2010 and 2019. And this is despite being attacked by Republicans.

Health care is a national emergency. Gun control is an emergency. Climate change is an emergency. Immigration is an issue that needs to be addressed, but is not a crisis. Trump's so-called national emergency is simply a way to distract us from the real problems Americans need to face.

Glenn Freeman

Mount Vernon