Letter writer Carlton Nelson's response commentator Brian Rogers piece "What about the national debt?" (May 31) exalts "feel good" economics over fiscal reality ("People first, debt second," June 2).
The fiscal reality is that the cost of our national debt for the year 2015 was a whopping $402.4 trillion, according to the U. S. Treasury Deptartment.
If there were no debt in 2015, those dollars could have been spent on upgrading public infrastructure and other "people projects," as Mr. Nelson suggests.
Mr. Rogers simply points out that the cost of interest on U. S. debt saps the vitality of our economy, often for no apparent benefit -- like the interest paid on the half billion dollars in loan guarantees President Obama gave to the bankrupt Solyndra Corporation.
L. R. Daniels, Glen Arm