Dear President,

I am a resident of Sunny Isles, Florida, and I am writing today because the prospect of student loans has begun to frighten me.

As I spearhead toward the end of my senior year of high school, the fears and anxieties of the adult world has slowly started to settle in my mind. It’s no secret that college is expensive, but in a society where being successful and going to college go hand in hand, it seems absurd to me that higher education is made unobtainable because of money.

The United States of America has the second most grossing economy on the planet, only by 0.1 trillion dollars behind the juggernaut that is China. On top of this we also easily have the most advanced military and remarkable volunteer rates for the military. So the issue is; why are we spending so much on the military. The military takes up about 50% of the United States discretionary spending. Whereas education only takes up a measly 6% of the discretionary spending. WHAT? A typical college student worked tirelessly through his/her years in high school to make it to the college of their own choice. And for what? A slip of paper that says “You did it, you can be part of the working class now” and several hundred thousands of dollars in debt. There are several European nations that that either give away higher education for free or even pay the students to go. So why does the USA have everything upside down and backwards?

If we were to cut our spending on the military by 30% and give it to education, then the aftermath could be brilliant. A working class with little to no debt, a decrease in criminal offenses because people won’t be driven to their breaking points by their desperations. If you really want to protect the US, then a strong arm military won’t do anything to help the domestic issues that actually affect the citizens that we are “protecting” from the threats in the Middle East.

Thank you for considering this matter.

Sincerely, Santiago Bentancourt