Yesterday was June 21 — the official first day of summer, and the longest day of the year. Some things about summer will never change: children will run through sprinklers and catch fireflies; basefall fans will sit in the sun cheering their favorite team; and families will fire up bbqs for picnics of hamburgers, hot dogs and potato salad. But other things will be different this year because of the economic downturn still affecting so many American families. Instead of taking a big trip to a favorite beach or national park, many are staying closer to home, or forgoing vacations altogether.
Unfortunately, the bad economy has also affected summer employment opportunities. Typically, teens spend summer months working at ice cream stores and summer camps, earning pocket money and gaining important work experience. Today the unemployment rate among 16-17 year olds is at 29.8 percent and the percentage of teens participating in the labor force has fallen to 22.7 percent from 40.7 percent this time ten years ago. Working just won’t be an option for many teens this summer.
But as citizens are forced to scale back, Washington continues its business as usual, overspending in spite of record deficits and declining revenues. Today, we’re on course to add nearly a trillion dollars to the national debt each year for the next decade.
Responsible Americans are making the necessary reductions to their personal consumption to pay down personal debt; they should be furious that Washington is just as busy adding to their share of the national debt. Today, each American family’s share of the debt is a staggering $115,000. And that’s expected to increase to nearly $200,000 in just ten years.
Americans have seen what is happening in Greece, where they are struggling to avoid default after years of irresponsible spending. Americans know that ultimately there will be real consequences to allowing the accumulation of so much debt in our country, and the burden will fall on taxpayers. Perhaps it’s time to start a new summer tradition: one of political activism that centers on urging our elected representatives to stop bankrupting America.
