Let’s Just Do It . . .

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I often wonder why certain things are not tackled in America. From almost every perspective, there are enormously important things that need doing. Yet, they are seemingly not done for whatever reason. It is inexplicable.

Let me list many examples that come readily to mind, and that make my case for change and action.  This list is not in any order of priority; instead, it is just a stream of consciousness as I began to write the “let’s” statements.

1. Let’s re-engineer the government once and for all. The Federal Government is too large, too cumbersome, too inefficient, and too costly.  Rank order the departments and agencies in the Federal Government according to the size of their respective budgets.  Then, start with the largest department and conduct an operational audit of every function and prepare a zero-based budget for it with a realistic assessment of costs and benefits.
2. Let’s review every law on the books and remove those laws that are no longer relevant or valid in today’s world.  Laws, regulations, and administrative rules are choking businesses, large and small.
3. Let’s revisit all subsidies of any kind to any industry or sector of the economy.  Why is the Federal Government still paying subsidies?  What is the justification?
4. Let’s review all foreign aid and determine if it is of any value and serves any purpose.
5. Let’s create a strategic vision for America for the 21st Century that builds on the ideas and principles of the nation’s founding.
6. Let’s stop talking about slavery, racism, and other issues that are dividing our country.  Let’s just move on.  The past is the past.  Let’s learn from the mistakes of the past, but let’s not live in the past and allow it to stain our present and diminish our future.  
7. Let’s limit the terms of senators and representatives. No senator or representative can remain in office for more than ten years and still be effective. They become part of the problem and cannot be part of the solution.
8. Let’s eliminate all lobbyists from politics.  Money and power both tend to corrupt.  
9. Let’s simplify the tax code and make it easier to understand and use.
10. Let’s set up a formal program to get every citizen an identification card of some sort. The best one is a driving license, for example, so that this form of ID can be shown when citizens are required to vote.
11. Let’s simplify the immigration system.  Every immigrant can be handled on a case-by-case basis: no chain migration, no family linkages, no anchor babies are necessary or appropriate.  Simple is better and easier to explain to everyone.  
12. Let’s simplify the asylum and refugee process as well.
13. Let’s elect more business people to the Senate and House.  We have way too many lawyers.  If diversity is our strength, let’s get a significant variety of representation in both houses, including a lot more women.  Our senators and representatives should be the best America has to offer, not the worst.
14. Let’s stop polluting the air and our waterways.  Everyone in the private sector and the public sector can support such a strategic initiative.  
15. Let’s set national priorities for America that everyone can back and support.  What priorities are in the best interests of America?
16. Let’s allow the American people to set the national priorities for our nation, not politicians.
17. Let’s fix our public school system.
18. Let’s stop sending everyone to college or university.  Let’s reimagine our technical schools and enhance their capabilities.
19. Let’s start retraining our citizens and get them ready for the Age of Robots and Robotics.
20. Let’s start reducing the national debt.
21. Let’s re-engineer and simplify the legislative process.
22. Let’s secure our borders and refuse to politicize the immigration system.
23. Let’s set priorities for repairing our infrastructure and get on with getting it done.
24. Let’s restore the family to a place of honor in our society.
25. Let’s stop normalizing behavior that is clearly immoral by any reasonable standard.
26. Let’s encourage young men and women to become gentlemen and ladies.
27. Let’s bring civility, integrity, truth, and honesty back into vogue.
28. Let’s clean up our speech, our movies, our behavior, and our culture. Let’s bring back art that is beautiful and uplifting. 
29. Let’s devolve power back to the sovereign states.
30. Let’s restore our culture.
31. Let’s respect the privacy of everyone and ensure that Facebook, Amazon, and Google do as well.
32. Let’s hold government and corporations accountable.