Dear Mr. or Madame President,

I am writing to you as a citizen of the United States who’s concerned about the financial future of my generation in this great country. Currently, the United States Federal Deficit is at $19.5 trillion and steadily climbing every day. As the elected representative of our country, it’s your duty to ensure the financial security of United States citizens by reducing federal spending or incorporating a Balanced Budget Amendment.

According to the Office of Management and Budget, the federal budget in FY 2015 was $3.8 trillion. Approximately 94% of this money was used in the Mandatory and Discretionary funds with only 6% being spent on Interest on Federal Debt ($229.15 billion). In the same fiscal year, the United States government borrowed $583 billion, borrowing $354 billion more than was used to reduce the debt. At this rate, CBO estimates that the debt will be well over 100 percent of GDP by 2039, under conservative assumptions about spending and revenue. If the United States Federal Deficit continues to increase at its current rate, taxes will need to be increased even more along with possibly requiring the production rate of United States currency to increase, leading to the decrease in value of the United States dollar. This news is shocking and alarming, and something needs to be done.

There are several possible solutions to the current state of the United States Federal Deficit such as: a Balanced Budget Amendment, downsizing of local, state, and federal government, and reducing the spending on such programs as Military, Foreign Affairs, Social Security, Unemployment, and Labor, and Transportation. Along with reducing federal spending, I believe that industries such as Science, Education, and Energy and Environment should be incorporated into the free market, reducing subsidies from federal government and saving hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars that could be spent on the Interest on Federal Debt, allowing a more stable economy and possibly the reduction of taxes. As a libertarian, I believe in the reduction and repeal of taxes, and as long as I’m being taxed for my hard-earned money, I believe it should be spent on the reduction of the federal deficit.

The financial future of the country is in your hands, Mr. or Madame President. I trust you to make the correct decisions when it comes to federal spending in the upcoming fiscal years. Be the president that caused economic growth and stabilization, not the president who caused the downfall of the United States economy.

Sincerely,

Thomas R., Yreka High School