My wish list if there is a blue wave in tomorrow’s election
If the Democrats take Congress tomorrow, fixing Trump’s mess should be the first item on the legislative agenda.
From an ag-oriented South Dakotan’s perspective, I want to see Congress undo the president’s tariffs. It has the power to do so. They’ve been such a drag on our country’s farm economy that getting rid of them will loosen up long-standing supply chain disruptions and get some liquidity back into the world’s distribution networks.
Congress should use all the tools at its disposal to get Trump to end his useless war in Iran. Its inflationary impact and waste of lives and money need to cease.
Problems of affordability have to be addressed, and they will be if tariffs are rescinded and the Iran war comes to a close. More broadly, Congress can address the affordability crisis through legislative actions aimed at housing supply, tax policy, and health care costs.
Given the way climate change is accelerating, we need more in in the way of green energy incentives and fossil fuel regulation.
Immigration policy should be focused on getting undocumented but otherwise law-abiding immigrants on the pathways to legalization. This was Ronald Reagan’s approach, and it worked. Trump’s policy of rounding them up and deporting them wholesale amounts to a deplorable lack of humanity. If you have a Judeo-Christian bent, read Leviticus 19:33-34. If you’re focused on the practical, economic consequences of Trump’s heavy-handed policy, consider that it’s causing a labor shortage in this country.
The list is long and complex, but a resounding political mandate tomorrow will at least make it approachable.
Let’s get out there and vote.
John Tsitrian is a businessman and writer from the Black Hills. He was a weekly columnist for the Rapid City Journal for 20 years. His articles and commentary have also appeared in The Los Angeles Times, The Denver Post and The Omaha World-Herald. Tsitrian served in the Marines for three years (1966-69), including a 13-month tour of duty as a radioman in Vietnam. Republish with permission.
Photo: public domain, wikimedia commons
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