Ed Markey's comment that "budgeting is just arithmetic, not math" will likely be the chuckle of the day. But as Ed Morrissey points out:
There is a difference between math and arithmetic. Unfortunately for Markey, he still gets even that wrong.
[. . .]
Math is a broad field of study of which arithmetic is just a base, and a lack of comprehension of the broader concepts creates all sorts of real-world problems for people later in life.
It also causes problems for Congress, thanks to careerists like Markey who have managed to run up national debt to Greece levels. Part of what drives deficits and therefore debt is the interest we pay on the outstanding debt we already have. We’re paying hundreds of billions of dollars in interest each year, which one needs to use algebra and not basic arithmetic to comprehend.
Gives "do the math" a much richer meaning, huh? I'm not sure, however, that the main problem is legislators' lack of comprehension of the concepts. I think deep down they just don't care.
