Tomorrow is election day and millions of Americans will go to the polls to select the people who will represent us over the next two years. Most likely, there will be a change in control in the Senate and a bunch of other changes in positions across the country. On Wednesday, however, that will be over. It will be time to get back to work to deal with the problems facing the country.
Here is a short list of things that must accomplished in the near future:
1. We need to agree on the proper approach to growing the economy. For the last four years, president Obama has not even bothered to propose anything which would promote economic growth. Whoever wins election to Congress and the Senate needs to try to reach some agreement for pro-growth measures despite the lack of leadership from the White House.
2. Control of immigration-- the entire immigration system in the USA is now out of control. Indeed, the best description for the current system is "incoherent". Obama wants to make changes by executive order, but the things that he is likely to attempt are beyond his powers as president. Most likely, any action Obama takes will ultimately be struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional. The new Congress needs to put some order into this mess.
3. Obamacare -- the damage being done by this mess of a program is being ignored by the White House. I doubt if the GOP will be able to repeal the law, but they need to take actions that can at least limit the damage being inflicted on the American healthcare system.
4. Energy and the environment -- the silly and ponderous reaction by the White House to fossil fuels, green energy and global warming needs to be brought back to reality. Right now, the biggest boost to the US economy is coming from the drop in oil prices due to the drilling boom here in the USA that Obama has fought tooth and nail. That anti-energy policy has to be reversed so that the full impact of our new energy sources can be felt. The waste of federal money on projects by the president's cronies in "green" energy (like Solyndra) has to end as well. A rational system that will allow the promotion of alternative but cost effective energy sources is needed. Since Obama and his people will not come up with a proposal for such a system, Congress should focus on it.
5. Terrorism -- the lack of a coherent national policy towards the Islamic terrorist groups has cost both the USA and the world greatly. ISIS is busy ruling half of Syria and half of Iraq while murdering thousands of innocents. Iran is building its nuclear weapons program while Washington looks the other way and pretends to do something. Our allies like Israel who confront terrorists are slapped around by the president and he makes friends with those like the Moslem Brotherhood who support the terror movements. Sadly, there is little that Congress can do on this front since foreign policy is basically a matter for the president, but Congress should still put as much pressure as possible on Obama on this front.
6. Cyber security -- America needs to harden the defenses of its various computer systems. Our society is so dependent on these systems right now that an enemy could cripple the USA by forcing those systems down. Congress needs to put together a reasonable approach to putting the necessary protection in place.
There are a whole host of other issues like tax reform, trade policy, financial regulation, etc. that need to be addressed. Sadly, Congress will have to lead here since Obama will not. No matter what Congress passes, the president may still veto the result. That does not make the effort unimportant or unnecessary. At some point, even Obama may come to realize that he has to agree to realistic plans that come from Congress.
Here is a short list of things that must accomplished in the near future:
1. We need to agree on the proper approach to growing the economy. For the last four years, president Obama has not even bothered to propose anything which would promote economic growth. Whoever wins election to Congress and the Senate needs to try to reach some agreement for pro-growth measures despite the lack of leadership from the White House.
2. Control of immigration-- the entire immigration system in the USA is now out of control. Indeed, the best description for the current system is "incoherent". Obama wants to make changes by executive order, but the things that he is likely to attempt are beyond his powers as president. Most likely, any action Obama takes will ultimately be struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional. The new Congress needs to put some order into this mess.
3. Obamacare -- the damage being done by this mess of a program is being ignored by the White House. I doubt if the GOP will be able to repeal the law, but they need to take actions that can at least limit the damage being inflicted on the American healthcare system.
4. Energy and the environment -- the silly and ponderous reaction by the White House to fossil fuels, green energy and global warming needs to be brought back to reality. Right now, the biggest boost to the US economy is coming from the drop in oil prices due to the drilling boom here in the USA that Obama has fought tooth and nail. That anti-energy policy has to be reversed so that the full impact of our new energy sources can be felt. The waste of federal money on projects by the president's cronies in "green" energy (like Solyndra) has to end as well. A rational system that will allow the promotion of alternative but cost effective energy sources is needed. Since Obama and his people will not come up with a proposal for such a system, Congress should focus on it.
5. Terrorism -- the lack of a coherent national policy towards the Islamic terrorist groups has cost both the USA and the world greatly. ISIS is busy ruling half of Syria and half of Iraq while murdering thousands of innocents. Iran is building its nuclear weapons program while Washington looks the other way and pretends to do something. Our allies like Israel who confront terrorists are slapped around by the president and he makes friends with those like the Moslem Brotherhood who support the terror movements. Sadly, there is little that Congress can do on this front since foreign policy is basically a matter for the president, but Congress should still put as much pressure as possible on Obama on this front.
6. Cyber security -- America needs to harden the defenses of its various computer systems. Our society is so dependent on these systems right now that an enemy could cripple the USA by forcing those systems down. Congress needs to put together a reasonable approach to putting the necessary protection in place.
There are a whole host of other issues like tax reform, trade policy, financial regulation, etc. that need to be addressed. Sadly, Congress will have to lead here since Obama will not. No matter what Congress passes, the president may still veto the result. That does not make the effort unimportant or unnecessary. At some point, even Obama may come to realize that he has to agree to realistic plans that come from Congress.
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