What is the most important change that needs to be made first in America?

[ladyfaith]

When I think of all the things that need to be changed by whoever our incoming president will be, there's a list a mile long. Some of those things include the cost of health care, the cost of fuel, bringing in new jobs, ending the war, and on and on. What do you think is the one thing that our new president should try to improve first?

[dheeruyadav]

i think people needs to change first. what ever internal crisis is present is due to people only.
the credit crisis or the problem of over spending.

[DianaR]

I think that politics needs to be free of religion, even in its most insidious forms.

Next, there needs to be the acceptance that socialist practices will have to be adopted to deal with predatory business practices, not just lending, unless the pro business policies of the Bush/Republican administrations are ended. It's the only way to protect the bulk of the population and provide for their basic needs, fairly.

[Gloria]

Originally Posted by dheeruyadav

i think people needs to change first. what ever internal crisis is present is due to people only.
the credit crisis or the problem of over spending.

I think i agree with you.. real change lies internally and there cannot be a positive change if we fail to change internally.. in other words, we all need a change and a positive one for that matter hence we must first change the way we think and the way we do things..

[suvan]

Our new president should give attention on unemployment problem & definitely on ending wars.War against Iraq has dropped the reputation of US.So he should stress on peace & thereby bringing our country's reputation back as before.

[jessy4u]

The most important thing that needs to be changed in america is INFLATION RATE.
It has grown u so much now-a-days. because of this inflation rate even the prices are grown up too.

[arcel]

Originally Posted by ladyfaith

When I think of all the things that need to be changed by whoever our incoming president will be, there's a list a mile long. Some of those things include the cost of health care, the cost of fuel, bringing in new jobs, ending the war, and on and on. What do you think is the one thing that our new president should try to improve first?

----

What can America do for the whole world once you elect a new president is too:
1. Pull out the Soldiers in Iraq 2. Use your own resource's EXAMPLE your OIL! reason you don't have to buy oil from the middle east. USA has enough PETROLEUM to support itself, so why buy more! It is just self preservation. 3. Promote green energy, we all know GM is the biggest car and truck manufacturer in the western hemisphere promote HYBRID vehicles.

That is about it for the meantime.

[trekjunkie]

Originally Posted by dheeruyadav

i think people needs to change first. what ever internal crisis is present is due to people only.
the credit crisis or the problem of over spending.

I agree 100%. The first thing that needs to be changed is the people. What happened to the days when people weren't afraid to pick up a sign and picket and stand up for what they believed in? Those days are long gone. Now everyone just seems to be ok with just rolling over and being walked on. Sometimes I wonder what type of world my children will live in. It's saddening and a bit scary all at the same time when you think about it. No matter how great our next president is, we as the people need to learn that we have the power. We just have to learn to use it.

[flaja]

Originally Posted by DianaR

Next, there needs to be the acceptance that socialist practices will have to be adopted to deal with predatory business practices, not just lending, unless the pro business policies of the Bush/Republican administrations are ended. It's the only way to protect the bulk of the population and provide for their basic needs, fairly.

Explain how socialism would deal with things like predatory business practices. What exactly would socialism accomplish?

[flaja]

Originally Posted by jessy4u

The most important thing that needs to be changed in america is INFLATION RATE.
It has grown u so much now-a-days. because of this inflation rate even the prices are grown up too.

Inflation is only a symptom of a greater problem. I am 40 years old. The first president whom I remember in detail is Jimmy Carter. Before he left office we had double-digit increases in the inflation rate on a monthly basis. Things now are not nearly as bad now as they were then, but some similarities between now and then scare me to no end.

Inflation under Carter was triggered by an energy crisis that stemmed from his botched policy in the Middle East (we lost access to Iran’s oil when Carter allowed the Ayatollah to overthrow the Shah). We also had oppressive federal tax rates (90% for some taxpayers) that stifled economic investment and thereby drove down economic productivity so our farms and factories could not meet our demand for consumer goods.

Today, the Middle East is about the same, although the real energy issue is our skyrocketing demand (due to larger than life homes and SUVs, while conservation and fuel economy was the norm for the 1980s). And while federal tax rates are not all that high, state and local tax taxes have gone through the roof (since 1980 Florida’s sales tax went from 4% or 5% to 7% in some counties and the tax bill for a house that my mother owns has about tripled over the past year due increases in its assessed value).

In order to revive the economy we must cut taxes across the board at the federal, state and local levels. But, then we would be making the same mistakes that we made in the 1980s by thinking the economy is the be all to end all political issue. It is not, but Americans tend to get so wrapped up in economic concerns that we neglect the societal issues that are way more important (family, education, community adhesion etcetera).

[flaja]

Originally Posted by arcel

What can America do for the whole world once you elect a new president is too:
1. Pull out the Soldiers in Iraq 2. Use your own resource's EXAMPLE your OIL! reason you don't have to buy oil from the middle east. USA has enough PETROLEUM to support itself, so why buy more! It is just self preservation. 3. Promote green energy, we all know GM is the biggest car and truck manufacturer in the western hemisphere promote HYBRID vehicles.
That is about it for the meantime.

The U.S. is not involved in the Middle East because of the oil there.

As of last July the U.S. gets over 59% of its imported oil from OPEC nations, but not every OPEC nation is in the Middle East. And as of 2005 most of our imported oil does not come from the Middle East: 5% comes from Iraq; 10.5% comes from Saudi Arabia and 14% comes from Kuwait. Canada provides the single largest source for our oil imports (17%) and Mexico provides 13%, which is almost as much as what we get from Saudi Arabia.

[chikoo]

Its has been 200 years since George Washington to George Soros and George Bush. Not much to be done. The financial system will explode. Just wait for that.
After the American Financial system exploded like Hiroshima then we may think of something. Just get back to gold, peg the USD to gold value. USD note should not be printed abusively. That means no gold = no USD or at least just do what Abe Lincoln did.

[rcf5005]

I ain't no economic expert, but the giant fluctuations in the market everyday are making people worried. If this is coupled with a giant increase in unemployment, then we are looking at a great depression, version 2.0. All the talk about abortion and gay marriage, and all that moral mumbo jumbo.

[priyeshu]

America lacks in education. Education should be focused there.

[GaryEarle]

What needs to be changed first? Simple...quit the handouts and quit nurturing a country of people who constantly have the attitude...Where is mine?? Unfortunately....Thats going to take a lot of work..and no politician has the balls to stand up and say ..."The handouts are over people"!!!

We need to get back to the thinking...I am responsible for me...not the government!

Gary

[sb123]

I believe in going back to the "place" from where things or policies became crisis. USA needs to immediately review all those policies that turned into what they have become now -- global crisis. The great country has the ability to review, rethink, redesign, recreate History.

The American leaders, which I believe will have that great personality, Mr. Obama as an able leader, also needs to restore Trust that was lost. Trust and Unity backed by powerful and positive attitude can win over any situation. The Americans have the qualities to really produce the greatest results. They just need to be shown the right answers and a goal that needs to be achieved fast.

Yes, I believe they can do it. The real need of the hour is to change attitudes first! I think, Yes, Mr. Obama will achieve the positive results to bring in the real changes, and it will come with a real change in America that will be followed by success. That change will be in the overall Attitude!

[liowkc]

As Bill Clinton once remarked, it is the economy stupid. Obama may be the first black president for the US, and it is a good thing. But black or white is not important, green is the most important color. A new president will hopefully inject confidence into the financial markets and let things work itself out in the longer term. To expect the new president to perform economic miracles will be unrealistic and naive.

[Right]

The most important thing that needs to be changed in America is....The habits of American people itself !!!

American people are known to live on borrowed money and that...in my opinion is the root cause of present financial problems. People should realize the importance of saving.....

Learn to save money you earned. This practice when undertaken by vast majority of people collectively would do American economy wonders !!

Regards,

Right

[Geminiamp]

I agree our economy is in a sorry state sure gas prices are down now but they are sure to rise again in the summer as they tend to do every year. I think that this is something we need to all work on though. Maybe if we all try to buy locally whenever possible and use less of our countries natural resources our economy would start to rise.

I heard on a news radio show over the summer that some were becoming unemployed because they lived in more rural areas and couldn't simply afford the gas to get to work.......this is just one example of people suffering

[Julklex]

Unemployment is the most important thing
When people are employed, they will have money, and a lot of things will solve themselves
They'll be able to pay back their debts, inflation won't affect them as much seeing as they have a decent income, etc.

[ppcmaniac]

Of all of the important issues in American right now, getting a hold of the mortgage meltdown in the financial sector is without a doubt the most important single issue right now.

It seems like every single day more and more losses are piling up in the stock market because of low investor confidence in the market right now. Apparently the 700 billion dollar bailout plan has not yet fully eased investors fears right now nor has it stabilized the market either. Even though Bush went on record as having said it will take time for the bailout to 'kick' in, I wonder exactly just how much time is he referring to. 6 months? A year? Now that Obama has been elected president, this should be priority number one. In fact, he is giving a press conference about this very matter later on this morning in his first press conference as president elect of the US.

[Albert]

Originally Posted by ladyfaith

When I think of all the things that need to be changed by whoever our incoming president will be, there's a list a mile long. Some of those things include the cost of health care, the cost of fuel, bringing in new jobs, ending the war, and on and on. What do you think is the one thing that our new president should try to improve first?

Yes, ending the war, or rather wars and also ending the slaughter of the unborn in the USA. I heard that 7 million babies were aborted in the USA over the past 5 years and even if my figure is wrong then I still think that one abortion is one too many.

[ZackFaire]

I agree with most of the posts here.

America has a lot of issues that needs to be dealt with and I think it all starts from each and every individual.

In every or so decade, there's some kind of huge conflict that puts the country in a riot. Maybe if we backed off from starting up conflicts with other countries and focused more on national improvement, we'll have ourselves a good solid base for future generations.

[Atubiga]

There is no doubt America is a great and powerful nation. In terms of science America is on top. In terms of standing army, America is the king. In financial terms, you will all agree with me that there is no other nation like America. However, America is not fit and there is something wrong somewhere with America. America is a land of freedom yet Americans who live in America do not experience this freedom. America is a land of hope yet America tops the list of "hopelessness". America is a land of opportunities but the opportunities are just for the selected few. America triumphs and America rules yet America lives in fear. what is wrong with America? in my little understanding, I think that the major problem with America is that America cannot see the fact that she is the greatest and hence cannot be greater than who she is. America has to understand the fact that there is no other nation on earth like America and hence she cannot be greater than who she is. America has to be proud of who she is, what she has and work towards maintaining what she has. There is no need expanding the empire in this part of history but there is the need of maintaining the empire so citizens can be proud of their little empire.

[ryan]

The change America needs most at the moment has to do with the economy. Our economy is becoming less and less stable by the day. We need someone who can make sure our economy holds up during these tough times.