Dear Mr./Mrs. President,

I’m writing to you about the topic of our national debt, something that could potentially have a major impact on the economy of the US and the rest of the world. By the end of 2016, the US federal government debt was estimated at 19.3 trillion dollars. This is a massive number, making the potential impact even worse.

This high debt can have some pretty dramatic effects, especially escalated by its size. If interest rates go up, the government will have to put a greater portion of its budget towards the interest payments, and less towards more economically stimulating spending. As Russ Koesterich, iShares global chief investment specialist and author of The Ten Trillion Dollar Gamble, says the government is still stimulating the economy by spending a lot, but when that gets too expensive, they’ll have to pull back, cut benefits, and cut transfer payments.

A few methods have been conceived that could help to lower the debt. Canada,for example, has a 5% sales tax, which some prefer to higher taxes on income or investments because those cause discouragement. Revamping the tax code was another idea by 6 democrats called “the gang of six” which implies lowering income tax rates, raising gas tax, raise payroll on high earners, cutting defense and other government spending, and raising the retirement age. Another idea was to ease off on regulations. According to the Center for Fiscal Accountability, regulation of businesses damages the economy by about 1 trillion dollars a year by increasing costs and inefficiency. The spending to enforce these costs about $61 billion annually and raising, the Center warns.

I hope you can find some way to tackle the national debt.

                                                                                                                                                          Sincerely,

                                                                                                                                                          Jacob R.