I read with interest the recent article (Herald, Sept. 1) regarding the lack of math skills in La Plata County. Actually, they’re lacking everywhere since the advent of calculators.

I notice that more and more, restaurant patrons of all ages bring out their “tip calculator card” when their bill is presented to them. It lists the tip value for different dollar charges at 15, 18 and 20 percent tips.

Many politicians have no concept of the magnitude of a “trillion,” which Obama uses in every day discussions. When Winston Churchill wrote his six-volume history books about World War II, he used “thousands of millions” rather than “billions.”

Here’s a math calculation that most voters will find of interest. On January 20, 1993 when Bill Clinton assumed presidential responsibility, our debt was over $4.188 trillion dollars. Eight years later the debt that Bush assumed on January 20, 2001 was $5.728 trillion dollars.

So Clinton had a total 8-year deficit of over $1.5 trillion dollars (in spite of the four annual balanced budgets presented to him by Newt Gingrich).

Democrats like to say that Bush assumed a surplus from Clinton. But take Clinton’s 8-year deficit of $1,540,000,000,000 and divide it by the days of Clinton’s tenure (8 x 365 = 2920 days) and you get a daily deficit of 527 million dollars (including weekends).

Bill was a busy boy. Hillary Clinton would like voters to not worry about “math skills” or daily deficits.

Another tidbit that might make one more appreciate the frivolous use of the word “trillion” is that a billion seconds are 32 years. Simple arithmetic; we know the magnitude of 32 years. But a trillion seconds is over 32,000 years. That’s incomprehensible.

I would hate to venture through life without comfortable math skills. Basic arithmetic is necessary. Basic trigonometry can be helpful, as can basic algebra, but I doubt that calculus and differential equations need to clutter the minds of those not needing such in their work.

And it should be illegal for politicians to use the word “trillion” except to describe the number of grains of sugar in a large swimming pool.

Harris Bynum

Pagosa Springs