Dear Future Mr./Mrs. President,

As a high school student, I had no voice in the upcoming election. I had no say in what the future of this country will hold. But I am okay with that because that is how the system works. Even if we don’t always have a direct say in the passing of laws or other dealings of the government, we expect to our opinions to be represented. We the people, put our trust in you to make or approve the decisions that will directly affect all of us in the near or distant future. My expectations for you are that you truly consider the consequences of your actions on generations to come. That being said, there is a very pressing issue that needs to be addressed that will disrupt the fate of this country, debt.

The national debt as of September 2016 was $19.5 trillion, with more than a trillion dollars being added every year. The more this number spirals out of control, the harder it is going to be to fix it. Our economy is running on credit, fake prosperity. If it’s taken away it will have catastrophic consequences on the economy. This continuously growing debt of today, that is just being pushed aside, is going to fall on the shoulders of the future generations of this country. You cannot just keep adding to and avoiding the problem and expect it to not fall apart at some point. You will likely never have to pay for the debt that was created during the time you lived. You cannot just wait until the day comes when the debt gets too much, and everything begins to crumble. You have to step in before it is too late. This issue cannot have a temporary fix, or just slowed, so during your time in office you need to start a course of action that focuses on reducing the debt.

The First thing that needs to be addressed is the deficit, the current US federal deficit is 587 billion dollars. The government can’t be spending money they don’t have on unnecessary programs. Taxes on the people can only go so far. The budget cannot be continually raised when they run out of money. Secondly, there should be a stop to the restrictions on energy sources available in our country. We cannot be limiting any potential prosper that is available in our country because we need all the resources we can get.

Paying off the debt would be a long and tedious process, but just because this is true does not mean that it shouldn’t be the top priority in government officials minds. This country is at a crossroads, we can’t sit by and watch this problem get any worse. This entire country and I are trusting you, the next president, the leader of the free world, and the most powerful person in America, with the future of this country. The question is will you be the one to take action, or will you be the one to fail?

Sincerely,

A Concerned Citizen