Trump's Cabinet

Aside from being a great movie, Back to the Future 2 was just one year away when they predicted the Cubs would win the World Series and Biff (Trump) would become president (2015 instead of 2016).  Truly amazing.

I was fortunate enough to be in Chicago when the Cubs won the series.  And like other Americans, I'm unfortunately here as Trump takes over the White House.

In Costa Rica, Park, Vandy & I spent a lot of time talking politics and discussing a number of issues.  The goal was for the three of us to reach resolution on each issue, which we did for most.  In some cases, none of us had the facts and we left it as TBD until we have more info.  Here's the summary from Trump's new cabinet of three.

Education

- No tax increase on the wealthy to reduce student loan interest rates.  We need to do more research on the burden on the government if government loans are defaulted.  Do taxpayers pay for it?  If so, consider privatizing.  Also, we need to check if loan defaults are a growing issue.  Also, what is the correlation, if any, of the size of a university's athletics department and increased tuition?

- We support common core standards, at a base level, but will allow states & local districts to customize depending on the types of customization requested.

Immigration

- US should not build a physical wall.  Further debate required on building a virtual wall.

- Illegal immigrants can only access health care that is government subsidized for emergencies (no disease, generally) and they will be deported after they are cared for.

- US cannot ban immigrants based on religion, but we can ban (or significantly reduce) based on high-risk countries.

- Illegal immigrants cannot get in-state tuition.

- Immigrants should not be required to speak English.

- Children of illegal immigrants should not be granted legal citizenship.

- US should increase restrictions in current border security policy, but states should not be allowed to manage their own security policy.

Electoral

- Foreign lobbyists should not be allowed to raise money for American elections.

- An ID should be required to vote.

- Corporations, unions and non-profits cannot donate to political parties.

- The limit currently in place for individual donors giving money to a candidate should remain.

- Presidential debates will not include candidates with <15 of="" p="" the="" vote.="">
- Political candidates are required to release recent tax returns.

Healthcare

- The government should not regulate the prices of life-saving drugs, however, every few years (e.g. three years), the government can ensure retail pricing is logically based on the costs of creating the drug.

- Marijuana should be legalized, taxed and regulated.  Marijuana offenses of criminals should be removed and these people should be released from prison.  However, the government should identify a way to test for marijuana in roadside tests.

- Vetrans should be able to see any doctor of their choosing.

Economic

- The minimum wage should be reviewed every year to align with inflation.

- Welfare recipients should be randomly tested for drugs and after two positive tests, they lose welfare for six months.

- We need to see an itemized list to better review possible reductions in public spending.

- We need to better understand the current requirements for hourly and salary workers before evaluating maternity leave.

- Remove corruption by eradicating loopholes for individual taxes and corporate entities.

Social Issues

- Pro-choice, but provide birth control, sex education and more social services to help reduce abortions.

- Same sex marriage is allowed, but churches have the right to refuse same sex ceremonies.

- The government should continue to fund planned parenthood.

Environmental

- The government should increase environmental regulations to prevent climate change and provide more incentives for alternative energy production.