Well, another year has gone and the New Year is about to bring with it a great deal of uncertainty. After the inauguration of Donald Trump, expect all hell to break loose. No one seems to know what will happen, even the Republican-controlled Congress. All corners of the world are facing old and new challenges, brought about by globalization, climate change, terrorism, populace movements, the Middle East crisis, economic downturns, free trade disputes, Brexit, Russian aggression, Chinese arms build-up, energy issues, and on and on.
Uncertainty breeds instabilities. As the world’s most powerful nation, the U.S. again is expected to play a major, steady and balanced leadership role. However, with loosely defined policies and a lack of specifics, no one is really certain as to what the President-elect and his cabinet have in mind. They appear to be talking mainly about doing away with numerous policies and programs, but without offering anything specific to replace them. One is against free trade agreements, for nuclear-arms build-up, smaller government, lower deficits, greater job creation, lower taxes, etc., etc. Exactly how the new American administration is going to go about accomplishing and paying for these general goals is still very much a mystery!
Here we have the future leader tweeting on a daily basis, causing havoc in the markets and creating unclear and often conflicting domestic and foreign policy directions. Is this governance now by tweet? How will a cabinet full of multi-billionaires deal with conflict of interest issues? After all, this is the wealthiest cabinet in modern American history. How will ex-military cabinet members handle sensitive matters when dealing with political allies and economic trade partners? How will a cabinet with little or no experience in government and public policy deal with daily governance? Can one expect that they will run government like a business? Only time will tell.
For all these reasons, I’m not looking forward to the next dozen months. Let’s hope that cooler heads and reason prevail. Please Mr. Trump, stop with the tweets. Think before you open your mouth. Words do matter, especially when they are uttered by the President of the United States. Work closely with your Congress, including both Republicans and Democrats. Take into serious consideration the expert advice of senior bureaucrats. Avoid being influenced too much by lobbyists and special interest groups. Put aside your business interests and put the interests of your fellow Americans first. Otherwise, 2017 could be a very rocky year.
FROLITICKS 
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