Politics
What Do I Expect from the Next U.S. President?
By Jason Cunningham
Sep 6, 2008 - 10:26:52 AM

Over the last two weeks, the Democrats and Republicans have hosted their political conventions in order to officially nominate their candidate to be the next U.S. President. I watched almost every minute of each party’s convention. Some of the speeches were great, but I was turned off by the partisan rhetoric. Unfortunately, I am not old enough to be elected as the country’s President, but the next U.S. President needs to understand my vision for the country. Sure, there is nothing that special about me; however, I am a proud American who would like to see the country move into a more positive direction.

In my opinion, the first one hundred days of any U.S. Presidency are the most important. This is the time when the newly elected President should send legislation to Congress that will further promote security of the homeland, sweeping education reform to help those living in struggling school districts, tax changes to help not just businesses, but all Americans and tackle the present challenges facing our Social Security and health care systems.

The preservation of “our life, liberty and pursuit of happiness” is an utmost concern that must be addressed. Over the past eight years, we have witnessed the tragedy that occurred on September 11, 2001, countless acts of violence in our streets against normal citizens and police officers that have been called to serve, as well as the tearful goodbyes of loved ones that have put on the U.S. Military Uniform to defend our country and interests around the world. The next President should present Congress with a bill that actually protects our northern, southern, eastern and western borders. Our safety, as citizens, should come before the rights of businesses that fail to do background checks on those that enter our borders illegally. Furthermore, businesses should be fined for hiring individuals that are in this country illegally and they known that these individuals have no intentions of ever becoming legal residents of the United States. Therefore, no one is above the law, not a CEO, a minister or anyone else.

The next President also must balance the privacy of our Nation’s citizens versus the Government’s need for surveillance. Believe me; it is okay for the Government to do searches, if there is a legitimate reason for them and those performing the surveillance have abided by the laws established by Congress and are not in violation with previous Federal Case Law that may have influenced any of these Congressional laws.

It is the duty of the next U.S. President to introduce legislation that will make it easier for police officers to arrest drug dealers. Nobody should be taking illegal drugs; we need to be clear minded Americans and we cannot afford to lose one more person or family to addiction nor to the violence that the drug culture has introduced into our society. There should only be safe neighborhoods in America, and no one should be afraid when he or she steps out of the car at night.

Education must be a top priority for our next President. Instead of shouting “No Child Left Behind,” we need to address the issue of our failing school systems throughout this country. You cannot punish the children by cutting the funding if school administrators and the families of these students are failing them. It would make more sense to forgive the student loans of those potential teachers who graduated college with high honors, if he or she is willing to teach in a poor performing school system for a period of three years. Another idea would be to share in the cost of loaning high ranking teachers in suburban areas to teach in school systems that have not recently performed well. And while I am not against school vouchers, it does not address the issue of why so many children leave high school without the ability and skills to finish college and to compete for good jobs in this global society. Every child in America deserves the same quality of education, whether he or she lives in a low-income area or the richest suburb in this land.

Who doesn’t need tax relief? Most Americans have suffered tremendously by the enormous increase in gasoline prices over the past three or four years. Many people have lost their jobs and/or homes, decreased the amount that they can afford to save, and postponed needed appointments to their dentist, eye doctor or family physician. The next President should introduce a bill that eliminates federal income tax from coming out of your paycheck for the six months of his Administration, with the exception of the payroll tax designated for Social Security and Medicare. This should help families struggling to pay their bills on time. We cannot afford to wait for the economy to come back; it is our responsibility to stimulate it to grow more.

Companies can still have tax cuts, but there will be a price to pay. If the Government grants a corporation with a tax cut, there will need to be some good paying jobs created, and if the company lays off individuals, then they must offer free job training to those affected by the layoff. The Government should remain friendly to businesses; however, there will be no favors for corporations that elect to outsource jobs to other countries as their first option and not as a last resort.

Our next President also needs to have a plan to rescue Social Security on day one. A lot of young workers, under the age of 40, want to invest their savings into the stock market. It might be an option to continue to invest the money needed to fund present retirees in safe government or cash instruments and the rest of the money could be used for investments in stocks, bonds or growth mutual funds. At this point, we must fight to keep Social Security solvent; as a result, we need reform now.

Most people have mixed emotions about how to fix our health care system. While some people argue about the number of Americans that are actually uninsured, there is no question that the number should be zero. Everyone deserves to have a minimal level of health care. Even if you do not sympathize with the plight of the poor, as a human being, you should want hospitals to take care of the sick or dying. The government should be in the business of helping the less fortunate and those who cannot afford health insurance. We need to put universal health care in the hands of insurance companies so that it can be done better than if administrated by the government.

I know that this is a lot to ask for. But, my vision for this country does not favor anyone. I want all Americans to realize that this is the land of opportunity. Whether Senator John McCain or Senator Barack Obama wins, these are goals that I would like to see accomplished by either one of them.