What are Some of the More Serious Problems in the US?

As the coordinator for the Online Think Tank, we often ask new applicants what challenges do they feel are most pressing, what problems do they see as paramount to solve and exactly what concerns do they wish to alleviate? The other day, one of the applicants wrote a short list of nine items the he felt were things that the Online Think Tank should be looking into and that he would want to work on too:

• 1.) Drug and gang problems.
• 2.) Local government and law enforcement inadequate.
• 3.) Border security.
• 4.) Foreign oil dependence.
• 5.) Radical Islam.
• 6.) War.
• 7.) Politicians.
• 8.) The Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America
• 9.) Council on Foreign Relations.

He also stated that he considered it to be selfish not to take action. Yes, this makes sense from his perspective although perhaps, we must also realize it would be foolish to take action that causes a worsened problem or leads to unintended consequences, which are far greater to the current challenges right?

Now then, in his list we have the Drug and Gang problems, which are huge, and we know that the current methods of stopping it are not working. We also know that we are filling up our prisons and jails with people and repeaters, many are not even legal citizens. Thus, the first problem he has identified is directly related to the third. And the border issue is also tied to Free Trade, and there are issues with Fair Trade, which affects number four (which is definitely linked to 5) and fair trade and free trade is all about number 8 also, which indeed affect number 9 too, which leads to political impasse affecting number 6 and the local enforcement are overwhelmed by it all number 2.

Sounds like all his issues are all “ONE” and they are all inter-related and linked, aren’t they? So, in fact to fix these problems we should be looking at them all together rather than in a linear item-by-item fashion. We must get at the root of the problems first, what say you?