Dear Mr./Mrs. President,

First off, I offer my felicitations to you on becoming the 45th president of our great country. I expect great actions and decisions to come from you. With this said, I believe that when we, as a country, look and think in a big picture perspective, the United States debt has to be one of our biggest concerns. At a ghastly $19.8 trillion for our national debt (US Debt Clock), I expect big things to come from you as President of the United States of America in order to reverse this deficit.

Considering this substantial debt, as well as its rate of growth, I obviously don't expect a complete turnaround where the debt soars into profit daily within the time period of your term. What I am expecting from you foremost is to avoid replicating the near doubling of the national debt as was seen during President Obama’s time in office. Not only do I expect this; for my second main expectation, I want you to make a goal to have decreased the U.S. debt by the end of at least one of the years within your term. If you manage to do this, it will be the first time it has been done since Dwight Eisenhower’s time in office in 1957. I'm sure that if our country finds the correct strategy to do this, we will motivate future presidents to follow down the same road (Polidiotic).

As for what I personally believe would be the best solution for reducing the trillions of dollars of debt we have fallen into is to lay off on the financial lenience we offer—specifically to social programs and other third world countries. I truly think this is one of the areas where we can fight back our debt legitimately. For example, we have illegal immigrants receiving all these benefits, such as free food stamps and health insurance. The benefits offered to illegal immigrants should instead be used to aid in diminishing the debt because they, after all, are illegal. Money for some social programs, perhaps, could be used to fight the debt. My family and I feel that some jobless people take advantage of social programs like welfare. I'm positive that you, as the president, can find a way to restrict some of the money given to these programs or, if possible, create certain requirements for those in the programs to stay in the programs. In addition, when we lend money for things like financial aid to other countries, we should be more strictly selective and put our country’s needs first. I am confident these tactics will result in a more secure America as far as debt is concerned.

And as you should know, the monumental increase in our country’s debt can eventually cause interest rates for us consumers to rise. According to chief economist Lynn Reaser, “At some point, it may be much harder to finance our debt . . . as a result, we would see an economic or market solution and that would mean either higher interest rates or a lower value of the dollar, or a combination of both. The potential for future growth could be less, and you could see a slower growth in the standard of living or even a decline." These higher interest rates fall along the lines of mortgage payments, car loans, etc. My mother has gone through stressful times paying her mortgage, and will have a tougher time paying it if the rates go up. Also, at this rate, student loans have been and will continue to be on the rise. As one of the millions of high schoolers in America having plans to go to college, I encourage you to help us hard-working students work toward having an easier time paying off our student loans (U.S. News).

To wrap it up President, I want to see change—good change in our substantial debt. I expect a turnaround in the near $20 trillion debt we've fallen into. Thankfully, we’ve avoided having the debt default, but it’s still important to look at this with a big picture perspective. Though I don’t expect a drastic turnaround, I certainly do not want to see the debt nearly double as we saw during our 44th president’s term, and neither does any other American. Strategies, methods, and other necessary elements must be implemented to fight back the hole we have fallen into as a country. Now, I expect you, with possibly the highest and most powerful position of government, to be the one to turn the debt around. Be the change that us grateful Americans want to see in this awesome country.

Sincerely,

Carter J.