Propelling through ocean deep water, America acts like a ship in motion. She trudges through the ocean hitting icebergs when times are tough. Today, the ship is about to hit the biggest iceberg yet, and the growing debt our country has is what makes that iceberg loom even as we speak. Lies buzzing, debt intensifying, our government hides the iceberg with dishonesty, making it look like nothing’s wrong. When we look down from the ship, all we see is a little mound of ice. In reality, the iceberg is growing below the water, and our leaders let it grow to an unbelievable size. When we hit, it will be a tremendous blow. The politicians in Washington D.C. will be dead by the time we hit, but when we do, all their mistakes will be revealed and acknowledged. Teens, clueless yet accountable, will be the ones to pay for it. So why should the politicians care?
It’s up to the next generation to put an end to this nonsense and create a better government. There is a dangerous amount of debt in America. We are in a total debt of about 14,094,000,000,000 dollars, with 3,522,856,375,987 dollars going to just pay the interest in 2011. If that were to be divided between every American citizen, child and adult, we would each owe $126,734. Imagine your child having to pay double or triple that amount by the time he/she is an adult. Not a pretty sight. The next generation will be like slaves, working not for themselves, but for the countries America owes money to.
According to economist Mike Mandel the national rate of household savings in the U.S. is 2.5%, falling grossly below the double digit savings of most industrialized countries. Why does the government still spend money we don’t have? Politicians convince themselves and each other that debt is right. Greed is selflessness. Not having the money and still buying things is strength.
Money.
Government.
Freedom.
All of these things will either destroy or be destroyed when America hits that iceberg. “[Lawmakers] need to acknowledge they have no way of funding [their new laws] right now,” said tax expert Len Burman, a professor of public administration and economics at Syracuse University. All those honest politicians in Washington D.C. persuade you to pay extra money because “they found the solution to our economic crisis.” In reality, they have found a way to get money from honest, hard-working taxpayers and use it for their own needs.
Our captain of the ship is not helping either. He speeds up the pace of our ship and is leading us, not away from the iceberg, but towards it. Instead of trying to pay off our debt, he spends our national savings for “important” vacation trips. What kind of captain is he?
With our debt growing, we earn less respect from other countries. America is no longer living up to its reputation; instead she depends on other countries for support and money. That is not why millions of people have sacrificed their way of life to keep this country safe. America is now crumbling from the inside out and our government does nothing. They encourage people to spend money like maniacs; they say it’s okay to be in debt.

America, mangled and unkempt, has waited long enough. It’s time for action. If you are one of those people who have noticed something is not right, don’t just sit by and watch, inform others about how dangerously high America’s debt is.