For my first experiment, I plan to compose an open letter to President Joe Biden about our large, growing national debt. This is a topic I first covered in my artifact of origin, a column that I wrote as a freshman for The Michigan Daily. This piece, “The serious crisis nobody is talking about,” was one of my first articles for The Daily and focuses on a subject I feel strongly about. I don’t think our large national deficit is discussed enough, and I would like to shed more light on this deepening crisis.

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Since this is an open letter, I knew when I was conducting my initial research that I needed to choose a recipient. My intended recipient is President Biden. Biden arguably has the most power at the moment to change the course of the national debt crisis, yet I don’t think solving the crisis is currently one of his priorities. I think this is acceptable as our nation continues to contend with the COVID-19 pandemic, but I believe his administration should be more actively discussing how we will address our debt after the health crisis.

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During the first month of his presidency, Biden has taken a number of important actions on issues ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic to climate change. However, I don’t feel Biden has paid enough attention to our accelerating national debt. It is a topic that most politicians (not just Biden) ignore. According to a recent CNN article, economists predict that despite surging under the Trump administration, the national debt will “go much higher” under the current president. 

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While the time to take decisive action might not be this exact moment, the time to actively discuss the problem is now. I am drafting this open letter to President Biden because I would like to turn his attention to this issue, and I think cohesive arguments and a clear line of reasoning can accomplish that. In addition to capturing the attention of the Biden administration, I would also like my open letter to capture the attention of ordinary people around the University of Michigan and beyond. Of all of the formidable threats to our country’s future, the growing national debt is something I feel is one of the most dangerous, yet most people continue to ignore it. We must begin an important conversation on this crisis, and I am hoping my open letter can be a meaningful step in that direction.