Sometimes, when I can't sleep at night, I fantasize about being the President and think about all the things I would do to fix the issues plaguing America. Background for context: I am a 49 year old male who grew up in Republican Orange County and now live in Belize for the last 6 years. I consider myself Independent now.
Issue#1 - Illegal Aliens. There are an estimated 11-15 million illegal aliens in the US. I know we're the land of the "give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore"; but no where does it say to come illegally. I have traveled all over the world and every country I've been to is very strict about Visas and staying in their country illegally...why not the US?
Solution: Carrot - You have 90 days to get your affairs in order and go back to your country legally. If you do this, you will be put on a special list that gets fast tracked to come back legally. DACA could be put on an even more expedited list to return legally. Stick - If you are here after 90 days illegally and get caught, you will go to jail for 30 (60-90?) days, then be deported and not allowed to come back legally for 10 years.
Issue #2 - Out-of-control inner city youths/gangs/drug dealers & FREE college & depleted military. I realize all of these are totally unrelated, but the solution brings them together. The #1 problem for inner city youths is a lack of a father and while I usually prefer the government to stay out of our business, until society figures out its "fathering" problem, the US government is going to need to step in and fill the role.
Solution: Every American joins the military or goes to an accredited college (trade schools ok) when they turn 18. If they decide to drop out of school early, they join the military (junior version?). The US Government pays up to $1000 per year for two years of school. This will cover most Junior colleges and trade school tuition's and books. Those with means can of course choose to go to private schools or State University's and pay for it themselves. The military would "father" those who need it and the US population would be prepared for war should it break out. All of those who complete their 2 years in the military could then chose to go to college and have it paid for by the government. This would drastically decrease the number of youths roaming the streets with no direction and little options. The military would teach these youths discipline as well as a skill/job that could be used in the private sector. The $1000/year for school and/or costs for military personnel would be out weighed by the decrease in costs for prisons and social programs.
Issue #3 - ISIS/AL Qaeda (terrorism) - I don't have any inside information, but I assume the US intelligence agencies know the whereabouts of many leaders and cells in different countries around the world. For whatever reason, Obama has been hesitant to take the fight to them. We need to hit them all on day one.
Solution: Gather the intelligence and put together a 20 man squad to attack each cell. Each squad trains separately for its mission, but they all attack similar to how they took out Bin Laden, at the same exact time . This needs to begin immediately. The first sentence out of President Trump's mouth after he is inaugurated is, "I would like to start off by acknowledging my Godfather". Godfather is the code word to launch the attacks and a la The Godfather movie, we take out all our enemies at once. This would send a tremendous signal to the world.
Issue #4 - Unity/Inspiration - The country needs something all the people can get behind, take pride in and cheer for together.
Solution: JFK did it with the moonshot and I think it can be done similarly with putting people on Mars. Elon Musk is pretty much already doing this with his private company and has stated he believes he can do it by 2025, so why not give Musk some backing, stay out of his way and share in the credit. Having the President talk about it would make it real and give all Americans something to root for together.