-By Vince Johnson
This picture was taken back in 1950’s when I was in my teens. If you don’t know who I am, your parents or teacher will. They will probably tell you how I blew the whole deal after I got to the top of the world. Well that’s OK, because it’s true. In 1977, I was 42 and worth millions, but I messed up big time. I was addicted to drugs. I overdosed. The end wasn’t pretty and I didn’t make it.
So now let me tell you about another kind of addiction. It is going on in your Congress. The “addiction” I’m talking about has to do with borrowing money. Congress is absolutely hooked on borrowing money. Tons and tons of money. Check this number: $9,000,000,000,000! That’s $9 trillion! That’s how much money Congress has borrowed to cover their hog wild spending. If I made $100 million a year, I would have to work 90 thousand years to pay it off! If your calculator doesn’t have enough zeros, check it out with your math teacher.
Here’s what you ought to keep in mind. They are borrowing most of that money from YOU!
It’s easy. Congress spends $9 trillion dollars and they set it up so that you will have to pay for it! They call it the “Public Debt.” You will be paying for it as long as you live. You will start paying on it as soon as you get a job or have any kind of taxable income. Right now, your share of that loan is $29,000! If you doubt me, look up our current Public Debt ($9 trillion) and divide by our population (302 million).
When I was seventeen, my share of the Public Debt was around $1,644 which is a lot less than $29,000! Now get this: There are 45 million more American citizens living today than back in 1952 when I was 17. This means that even though the population increased by 45 million, it didn’t reduce the debt per person one cent. It didn’t even slow it down! How did this happen? The Congressional addiction to borrowing money got out of control and this means huge tax bills will be coming down on you for as long as you live.
None of you kids will ever get out of this one. Congress has seen to that! If you don’t make your payments (by paying your taxes) you can be fined, or be sent to prison, or both. Just remember this: When I overdosed on drugs I didn’t make it. When Congress overdoses on borrowing, chances are good that you won’t make it either. Your only chance is to get this into the Supreme Court. If they find it is unconstitutional to stick you with a debt loaded with so much exorbitant waste, Congress will have to find a way to govern in the manner they swore to do when they took their oath of office. And in my opinion, it is about time they did!
Thank you very much.
Elvis Presley January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977
If Elvis were alive today, I’m sure he would have approved of this message. If I had any doubts, I would have named another teenager named Fred Springer. I was two grades behind him in High School. I knew him well enough to know he would have absolutely approved of this message. After he graduated from High School he joined the Marines. He was killed in action in 1945 at the age of 19 on Iwo Jima. Over 7,000 other Americans were killed during that battle and thousands of them were in their teens just like you.
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Vince Johnson welcomes comments. Please send them to,Vince Johnson(vjadtrak@wvi.com)
See Vince in the new book Americans on Politics. Policy, and Pop-Culture.