Outlining Potential Hazards in Trump's Policy Initiatives
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Outlining Potential Hazards in Trump's Policy Initiatives

The 100 Days of Shame

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Outlining Potential Hazards in Trump's Policy Initiatives
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The unthinkable happened this November 8th. A man with no experience or skill has been elected President of the United States. Below is a copy of the first 100 days of a Trump presidency along with my predictions on how well each will impact the United States. I am a political science major commenting only on policy benefits and drawbacks. There is very little anyone can do to combat President Trump and his choices. The democratic party could do what the Republicans have been doing during the Obama administration and filibuster more times than any other administration in the US history. Legislation could be challenged in court but that requires money and time. Everything outlined below is interpretation based on the details given at this time which are sparse and grossly dangerous because of their lack of depth. My commentary will be below each point made in the plan and will be clearly marked by a lowercase a.


What follows is my 100-day action plan to Make America Great Again. It is a contract between myself and the American voter — and begins with restoring honesty, accountability and change to Washington

Therefore, on the first day of my term of office, my administration will immediately pursue the following six measures to clean up the corruption and special interest collusion in Washington, DC:

* FIRST, propose a Constitutional Amendment to impose term limits on all members of Congress;

a. The Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has already proven unwilling to work on this particular piece. He has staunchly opposed term limits claiming the election cycle is the only necessary term limit. If the Republican party balks on legislation Trump has nothing he can do considering Republicans control all of government.

* SECOND, a hiring freeze on all federal employees to reduce federal workforce through attrition (exempting military, public safety, and public health);

a. The Federal government is one of the largest employers in the United States for a reason. It takes a massive amount of people to make the government function. This hiring freeze will help somewhat ease the cost of labor but when the rest of the job market is doing poorly it may be detrimental for the average citizen especially in the long run as more people begin to look for work outside of the traditional governmental sector.

* THIRD, a requirement that for every new federal regulation, two existing regulations must be eliminated;

a. These will probably all come out of the energy sector and the environmental protections sector of regulation, considering Trump's loathing of climate change and regulation, opening up the United States to business mismanagement and environmental disaster. Under federal regulation and scrutiny, the BP oil spill occurred and nearly six pipelines for oil have burst leaking into the water supply of several states in the last three months. Deregulating an industry that has shown itself to completely disregard proper safety protocol for the environment is a major loss for the United States.

* FOURTH, a 5 year-ban on White House and Congressional officials becoming lobbyists after they leave government service;

a. Would be a decent restriction to impose however the likelihood that Mr. Trump can pass it through Congress is slim. Again Congress hasn't passed these laws for a reason, they are detrimental to the members of congress. The Republican party can overturn

* FIFTH, a lifetime ban on White House officials lobbying on behalf of a foreign government;

a. This makes sense and should've been in place a long time ago.

* SIXTH, a complete ban on foreign lobbyists raising money for American elections.

a. Considering the amount of support Trump received from Russia, admittedly not monetary aid, this seems particularly hypocritical but beneficial for the United States as a whole. A few days after the election ended Russia admitted to having contact with the Trump campaign. The nature of this contact is unknown but considering the hacking of the DNC, it could just as easily be offers to violate US free and fair elections through foreign involvement or something less sinister like feeling out a potential president.


On the same day, I will begin taking the following 7 actions to protect American workers:

* FIRST, I will announce my intention to renegotiate NAFTA or withdraw from the deal under Article 2205

a. Protectionism usually doesn't work in the global market. Most likely result is that food prices go up, along with assorted import costs from Mexico, South America and Canada. Unless industries in the US recover from NAFTA or return to the US, the job market will not improve. Food products and manufacturing come from Canada, Mexico and South America but that's mostly because of their ability to do it cheaply without tariff. We lose markets for our goods by imposing tariffs that our nearby allies cannot overcome and make a profit so they impose tariffs of their own.

* SECOND, I will announce our withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership

a. Backing out of trade deals in favor of protecting US markets will only work if the US is competitive on the global stage which it has slowly lost its competitive edge in several markets. TPP is difficult to quantify succinctly. In essence, the US wants to expand markets overseas in Asia through agreeing to cut tariffs between these nations and the US. Congress has protested that the cost of TPP will be too much for the US to handle.

* THIRD, I will direct my Secretary of the Treasury to label China a currency manipulator

a. Last time the United States attempted to do this China pulled out of rare earth and metals trading which is beneficial to the United States and pulled out of key US-Chinese relations. It is true China has been fixing the price of its currency for some time now however, the United States has never been in a sufficient position of strength to call it what it is. Chinese investment in US debt and import export between our two countries will suffer, raising the price of general goods across the country.

* FOURTH, I will direct the Secretary of Commerce and U.S. Trade Representative to identify all foreign trading abuses that unfairly impact American workers and direct them to use every tool under American and international law to end those abuses immediately

a. Renegotiating trade deals and ending trade practices will be difficult if the United States is not in a position of power. Negotiating for anything from a position of weakness is generally not a wise decision. Other countries have little to gain from renegotiating these deals so Trump will most likely be forced to pull out. This will raise the cost of whatever that particular trade agreement was about, whether it be technological, agricultural or material, hurting the American people. If he cannot renegotiate the deal and backs out, the US citizens will experience price hikes in goods. Trump has promised to default on debts as well which lead to the devaluation of the US dollar and a spike in the national debt that could lead us into a debt crisis like what befell Greece.

* FIFTH, I will lift the restrictions on the production of $50 trillion dollars' worth of job-producing American energy reserves, including shale, oil, natural gas and clean coal.

a. Environmental catastrophe for the United States. The prospect of becoming energy independent is beneficial to the United States but the costs for doing so on our water supply, which is steadily dwindling, and our ecosystem is high. Half of the Earth's animal population has already died out and an estimated 15 states are projected to have water shortages and constant rationing in the coming years. Couple that with taking away the regulations that hold these energy countries responsible for cleaning up their own disasters, of which there have been at least six major pollutants of water supplies and 3 states issuing states of emergency in the last two months, there will be little to no stopping these companies from walking all over the citizenry. Short term gain, long term loss.

* SIXTH, lift the Obama-Clinton roadblocks and allow vital energy infrastructure projects, like the Keystone Pipeline, to move forward

a. Oil companies have long since proven they do not maintain their pipelines well enough nor follow safety protocol to ensure pollutants don't find their way into the water supply or poison the local environment.

* SEVENTH, cancel billions in payments to U.N. climate change programs and use the money to fix America's water and environmental infrastructure

a. Backing out of U.N. commitments will net an immediate influx of cash for the United States that will hopefully benefit the people in the short term. In the long run, burning bridges with the UN will make policy initiatives and other functions difficult even for a member of the Security Council. With the US losing ground and actually passing legislation allowing US citizens to sue other countries, the UN could be used as a means for countries to counter sue the US over damages and questionable actions.


Additionally, on the first day, I will take the following five actions to restore security and the constitutional rule of law:

* FIRST, cancel every unconstitutional executive action, memorandum and order issued by President Obama

a. He would have to use an executive order to do so. Executive orders are not expressly laid out as a Presidential power in the Constitution. Instead it was constitutional law and interpretation that allowed Presidents to submit policy when an obstructionist Congress refused to do their job or in acts of an emergency like combating the Great Depression. He will likely hypocritically pass his own list of executive orders throughout his presidency. President Obama issued the fewest number of executive orders since its creation.

* SECOND, begin the process of selecting a replacement for Justice Scalia from one of the 20 judges on my list, who will uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States

a. Finally the Supreme Court will be back to its full potential. Although the prospect of a Trump Supreme Court nominee is scary, this is a core function of the Presidency. Hopefully whoever is picked can see past their ideology and uphold the Constitution and the law.

* THIRD, cancel all federal funding to Sanctuary Cities

a. Beneficial for the Federal government and to the citizenry. Nets an influx of cash from policies that many Americans cannot stand for. In essence, a sanctuary city is meant to prevent police forces from racially discriminating against minorities and questioning them about their immigration status. It is meant to protect the rights of US citizens but it also protects undocumented workers .

* FOURTH, begin removing the more than 2 million criminal illegal immigrants from the country and cancel visas to foreign countries that won't take them back

a. This will be a difficult process, mass deportation would take a massive amount of police which is beyond the US ability to field or pay for. In essence, if he wanted large scale he would have to deploy the National Guard, call for police officers from other States or deploy the Military. Opening up approximately 5% of the lowest level jobs to the American people will benefit few individuals but it is still a small benefit.

* FIFTH, suspend immigration from terror-prone regions where vetting cannot safely occur. All vetting of people coming into our country will be considered extreme vetting.

a. Mostly prompted by fear. The United States terror attacks in recent years have been home grown American citizens. Will go over well with his supporters, morale boost for the country perhaps.


Next, I will work with Congress to introduce the following broader legislative measures and fight for their passage within the first 100 days of my Administration:

  1. Middle Class Tax Relief And Simplification Act. An economic plan designed to grow the economy 4% per year and create at least 25 million new jobs through massive tax reduction and simplification, in combination with trade reform, regulatory relief, and lifting the restrictions on American energy. The largest tax reductions are for the middle class. A middle-class family with 2 children will get a 35% tax cut. The current number of brackets will be reduced from 7 to 3, and tax forms will likewise be greatly simplified. The business rate will be lowered from 35 to 15 percent, and the trillions of dollars of American corporate money overseas can now be brought back at a 10 percent rate.
    1. Will lead to a massive spike in US debt over time by several trillion due to the lowest tax revenue income the US has ever experienced. Initial benefits for the middle class will slowly taper off unless the current plan is modified thoroughly.
  2. End The Offshoring Act. Establishes tariffs to discourage companies from laying off their workers in order to relocate in other countries and ship their products back to the U.S. tax-free.
    1. Protectionism will not work unless the US is already competitive in that market. Without US advantage this will not be particularly beneficial.
  3. American Energy & Infrastructure Act. Leverages public-private partnerships, and private investments through tax incentives, to spur $1 trillion in infrastructure investment over 10 years. It is revenue neutral.
    1. Not likely to be revenue neutral except on paper. Unclear how beneficial or detrimental this policy will be because of a lack of clarity in the policy.
  4. School Choice And Education Opportunity Act. Redirects education dollars to give parents the right to send their kid to the public, private, charter, magnet, religious or home school of their choice. Ends common core, brings education supervision to local communities. It expands vocational and technical education, and make 2 and 4-year college more affordable.
    1. Beneficial if funded well which all comes down to Congress. Will undercut mid level and low level schools struggling to improve by drastically reducing their student population, potentially closing schools that have dual roles as community centers etc.
  5. Repeal and Replace Obamacare Act. Fully repeals Obamacare and replaces it with Health Savings Accounts, the ability to purchase health insurance across state lines, and lets states manage Medicaid funds. Reforms will also include cutting the red tape at the FDA: there are over 4,000 drugs awaiting approval, and we especially want to speed the approval of life-saving medications.
    1. Does not protect, at this time, preexisting conditions. Needs to be done quickly and efficiently. Potential for market competition if acceptance of insurance policies and networks expand rapidly.
  6. Affordable Childcare and Eldercare Act. Allows Americans to deduct childcare and elder care from their taxes, incentivizes employers to provide on-side childcare services, and creates tax-free Dependent Care Savings Accounts for both young and elderly dependents, with matching contributions for low-income families.
    1. Overall positive initiative, hopefully extends to single parent households but does not at this time.
  7. End Illegal Immigration Act Fully-funds the construction of a wall on our southern border with the full understanding that the country Mexico will be reimbursing the United States for the full cost of such wall; establishes a 2-year mandatory minimum federal prison sentence for illegally re-entering the U.S. after a previous deportation, and a 5-year mandatory minimum for illegally re-entering for those with felony convictions, multiple misdemeanor convictions or two or more prior deportations; also reforms visa rules to enhance penalties for overstaying and to ensure open jobs are offered to American workers first.
    1. Building the wall is a gross misuse of funds. Its cost benefit ratio is near worthless. The possibility that Mexico will reimburse the US is zero without military action. Deplorable plan for fixing this key issue but a great diversion for Trump followers.
  8. Restoring Community Safety Act. Reduces surging crime, drugs and violence by creating a Task Force On Violent Crime and increasing funding for programs that train and assist local police; increases resources for federal law enforcement agencies and federal prosecutors to dismantle criminal gangs and put violent offenders behind bars.
    1. Police reform is critical to resolving the conflict between civilian and police violence. Last year The Guardian investigative report concluded a total of 1146 dead at the hands of the police in the US, 24 of which occurred in Pennsylvania. The FBI has record of approximately 400 "justified" killings. Police are not required to submit to the FBI how many die at their hands or under what circumstances. Throwing money at this problem will not fix it.
  9. Restoring National Security Act. Rebuilds our military by eliminating the defense sequester and expanding military investment; provides Veterans with the ability to receive public VA treatment or attend the private doctor of their choice; protects our vital infrastructure from cyber-attack; establishes new screening procedures for immigration to ensure those who are admitted to our country support our people and our values
    1. Rebuilding our military requires funds we don't have and will never have under the Trump economic plan. Expanding VA coverage is a great idea. Cyber security initiatives started in 2009 under the Obama administration but were defunded by Republicans. They are now going to take credit essentially for finishing what Obama tried to start.
10. Clean up Corruption in Washington Act. Enacts new ethics reforms to Drain the swamp and reduce the corrupting influence of special interests on our politics.
    1. Everybody wants this but without issuing executive orders ,Trump will have difficulty passing reforms through Congress. He has already begun recruiting both fringe and core establishment individuals and lobbyists to staff his government. Most likely will be one of his most hypocritical actions.
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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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