-By Vince Johnson
Dear Mr. President,
As a parent and grandparent, I urgently suggest that you prepare a special address to the thousands of High School seniors in the graduating Class of 2009. The purpose of this address would be two-fold.
1. Review the following in a clear and straightforward manner: According to official statements made by the Government Accountability Office, U.S Budget Watch, U.S. Office of Budget and Management, each Student’s share of the National Debt is $36,667 and rising. Add in $56 trillion for the unfunded entitlements (Social Security, Medicare, etc.) and you get a total commitment of $67.2 trillion or $220,409 per each American citizen including around 33 million kids under the age of 18.
2. Explain the ethical and moral considerations that justify borrowing several trillion dollars from future generations without their approval and without advising them how the magnitude of this debt will impact their entire lives.
I hope you will agree that it is a matter of honor and decency that these questions are answered by those who authorized borrowing at a rate never before seen in our history. Surely, the ethics involved were considered first and foremost. It would therefore seem you would welcome the opportunity to explain these things to those who will be burdened with the payments for as long as they live.
Sincerely,
Vince Johnson
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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.
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