Issue 2013: New Day Same Problems

by Justin Paley

Like many Americans, I am praying that the new Congress and President Obama’s second term will bring some much needed change to Washington. But, sadly, I personally am not very hopeful for this. While some seemingly non-compromising tea partiers, such as Todd Akin are on their way out and some seemingly more open minds, such as Tammy Baldwin and Kirsten Gillibrand, are on their way in, I still don’t think that is enough to change Washington. The same problems that plagued us in 2012 and past years will continue to haunt us. Here is a list of what I think will be the most pressing issues/challenges in 2013:

1.     Fiscal Problems

With our Congress barely able to make a deal of the oh-so-infamous fiscal cliff, I have dampened confidence that this Congress can reach a timely deal on the upcoming fiscal questions. One of those pressing issues will be coming up very quickly. This is the possibility of raising the debt ceiling in February. While I am not hopeful that the partisan gridlock will stop with the New Year, we shall see how the new Congress handles these emerging fiscal questions.

2.     Gun Control

With the recent shooting at Newtown, gun violence is at the forefront of the public’s mind and there is much pressure from a lot of people to enact some stricter gun legislation and even ban weapons completely. While I do believe in the 2^nd amendment, I do think that Congress should impose some tougher gun regulations, especially on automatic and assault weapons.

3.     Foreign Policy

With the election over, the event in Benghazi has calmed down, but is still a pressing issue, especially among Republicans that basically stopped Susan Rice from being nominated for Secretary of State. Along with Benghazi there is still (and probably will be for a very, very long time) a lot of questions to answer in the Middle East such as what to do with Syria (with Obama recently rejecting a peace deal) and other Middle Eastern countries such as Afghanistan. I really don’t know what to do when it comes to the Middle East, but it will be interesting to see what the Obama administration, and Secretary of State-hopeful John Kerry, will do.

My advice for the President and Congress would be one word: compromise. It is a fact that the American people are sick of the gridlock in Washington and we all just want to see something get done. Some of the most Conservative politicians (Ronald Reagan) have found ways to compromise with very liberal politicians (Tip O'Neill). I would encourage all of Washington to look at history to guide them. Look at how Lyndon B. Johnson took advice from Dwight Eisenhower. While they were both from different parties, LBJ considered Eisenhower one of the greatest politicians he had ever met and the two were in agreement on civil rights and made considerable contributions to the advancement of civil rights. History shows that people on two opposite sides of the table can reach and shake hands and actually do something productive and serve the people that elected them. This country seems to be rebounding and it would be a shame if Washington’s gridlock got in the way.