By Scott Levin
Staff Writer

A growing issue for this country is its soaring national debt. The debt is the amount of money that the U.S. owes to those countries who have lent the government money. The debt increases when America’s spending exceeds the amount of money it makes each year.
The figures
The U.S. national debt is currently 7.4 trillion dollars. In 2003, the United States had to pay $318 billion dollars of interest to lenders for the national debt. Every year the U.S. adds 500 billion dollars onto the national debt by borrowing more money from other countries such as Japan and China. The debt increases 1.7 billion dollars every day. By 2009, the U.S. debt will reach 11 trillion dollars.
The Problem
The U.S. relies heavily on the money given to it by other countries to sustain the economy, continue the war on terrorism and fund the military. But other countries will not go on handing over money forever. Sooner or later the U.S. must face its monstrous debt, and the longer it waits the worse the consequences will be.
The consequences
The increasing burden of interest for the enormous national debt affects all Americans. The decisions of today affect the choices and economic freedom of tomorrow.
As baby boomers retire, their increasing strain on the budget will make interest payments harder and harder to fulfill. Some potential remedies for the debt could include dramatically lower budgets for education or other important government-funded areas, huge tax increases, and/or cut retirement benefits. While the debt has not been an issue in this presidential election, it should be a main concern to all Americans.