The Updated Top Ten Issues Facing President-elect Trump in 10 Days and Counting...

In 10 days, President-elect Trump will be a reality; he will need to address all of these. This is the most popular blog I have written with over 400 pageviews, and I felt it needed an update...so here goes:

(And by the way, immigration still does not make my top ten although prison reform is number 11.)


10. Decreasing the deficit by decreasing the Military Industrial Complex: President Eisenhower warned the nation before he left office. He wasn’t talking about decreasing support for troops or vets; he was talking about building weapons and selling them for profit to other nations…like Saudi Arabia! (Happening now…and also to Israel, too--35 billion dollars worth...)

9. Income Inequality: Let's move this to #3: Corporations and its CEO’s are not going to start selling off their yachts. However, Union’s must support higher wages and a living wage needs to be addressed. Above all, American workers need to be willing and able to become educated in the new ‘workplace’.And it should be noted that unemployment isn't caused my immigration primarily, but by automation!  ( see pt #2)

8. Putin: Let's make that #4: America needs to keep our collective eyes on a dictator who kills his competition, jails journalists, and wants to expand his domain to get to the “Old USSR”. Um, here Mr. Trump is either gullible (not) or has a business interest he needs to divulge (including his taxes.

7. North Korea: See above. Add Nuclear weapons on missiles. China is the key to leveraging them, so not a good idea to make an enemy out of a reforming, but polluted China, Mr. Trump. 

6. Polarization in Politics = Gridlock: America needs a Republican Party that is center right and the Democratic Party needs to be center left. Both need to learn to compromise. Good luck (with that).

5. Discrimination: ‘Black Lives Do Matter’ so do all minorities—all people of different creeds and sexual identities matter. America no longer has black and white water fountains, but it takes much longer to change hearts and minds. Arming everyone is not the answer. Inclusion and education is.

4. ISIS: Let's drop this down to #9: President Obama has made great strides in dealing with the Taliban and its off-shoots. He was the president who made Osama bin Laden history. However, young men who feel economically impotent and religiously inspired will have to be inspired by another force—optimism that their lives are worth something—so they don’t believe death is the better option. I demoted it because ISIS is crumbling...slowly but surely.

3. Syria: Let's make this #8:  Putin has helped Assad destroy city after city. History will show that this mass murder and migration is a war crime. Eventually Assad will pay--unless Putin continues his support. President Obama could not  to see a way to deal with a murdering scoundrel and his Russian ally without putting boots on the ground in a futile effort with the possibility of war with the Soviets. It was a lost cause—the poor people of Syria are the tragedy of this drama.

2. Public Schools: Teachers need to be paid better, the length required for tenure needs to be the trade off. Governments (Federal and State) need to equally willing to invest much more in the schools—not the administration of these schools. We can do better. We must do better or else we will expand even further the two class system of education we have in the primary and secondary schools. This is a blog in itself

DRUM ROLL...
1. Global Warming: This 'trumps' all because the world is already facing food production shortages and fresh water is the reason why mass migrations are occurring in Africa (and their governments are collapsing.) America will see Miami's disappearing as sea levels rise. We will see climate swings, floods, record heat, tornadoes, --you name it.  The Middle East will very soon see heat levels at 135 degrees. I could go on and on...but we can't. The problem is the new president seems to miss this fact.
(Perhaps I should tweet it.) And he thinks the Paris Accords aren't his 'thing.' Let's hope he receives sage advice...except many of his advisers are not on board yet. Ellison seems to be the exception--even though he spent 50+ years at Exxon Mobil. So keep an eye on the ice, cause the tide is rising.