By Tim Baldwin
Donald Trump handily won the electoral college, to many’s surprise. Notably, on Election Day, global corporate media admitted how badly their polls were off and “promised” to work better at poll accuracy. Trump met with President Barack Obama to ensure a smooth transition of presidential power and published a task list. What are three items we should welcome, regardless of our feelings about Trump?
(1) First on Trump’s list is, propose a constitutional amendment to impose term limits on Congress. Most people would agree: it’s time to limit Congress’ terms.
(2) Trump wants to impose a five-year ban on White House and Congressional officials becoming lobbyists after they leave government service and a complete ban on foreign lobbyists raising money for American elections. Bernie Sanders would agree, and so would most Americans. The Federalists Papers expresses clearly that a real danger to a Republic is foreign influence.
(3) Trumps wants to give substantial tax cuts to the middle class. This need is obvious. Even Clinton expressed her intent to do this. The working class is too heavily burdened with taxes. Of course, tax cuts should include cutting unnecessary federal bureaucracies.
This was an intense and divisive election. Some Trump opponents are protesting his election even though he has done nothing yet to violate the Constitution. America must give Trump a chance to do his duties, if nothing else, to help accomplish the list above.
By Joe Carbonari
Reince Priebus as Donald Trump’s chief of staff is encouraging. It gives him a channel to experienced, establishment support and shores up relations with the Republican congressional leadership. This will help get legislation passed while his momentum is still strong and, arguably, growing.
We are still in need of economic stimulus, infrastructure development, and a boost to the working class. The combination of tax cuts and infrastructure spending that Trump has touted rings deficit alarms, but at least the infrastructure portion has bipartisan appeal, and the Tea Party’s anti-debt stance may slow but is unlikely to stop it. Indeed, Trump’s election may not bode well for the Tea Party overall. He does not come naturally to their positions. Hopefully, their obstructionism is on the wane.
How we in the U.S. deal with the technological changes of our times is at base. We must prepare our less-skilled workers for the future and provide a path for their labor and well-bring. This is true for most industrial societies globally, and must be addressed. Those being left behind cannot be abandoned. They must be redirected, retrained where necessary, and put to work. For many, the mindsets of individual initiative, competition and the willingness to adapt with change needs first to be instilled and then to be nurtured. The concept of entitlement can be, and has been, overdone.
Abroad, our first concern is stability. We, alone, cannot demand, create, or enforce it, but it will not happen without us. It is our continuing duty.