World's Biggest Problems - Week 3

If you have been following the presidential debate over the last few months, you are aware of the major problems that are plaguing our nation; in the list that I am about to name, you will find several of those topics familiar and several that are isolated to other countries around the world and in my humble opinion, what would be a good stepping stone towards remedying these issues.

1.  Homelessness

Near and dear to my heart, I have been at the forefront in Central Florida for combating homelessness.  The number of homeless teens and veterans alone is staggering and disheartening.  This issue is currently being addressed by local leaders by looking into community housing but not all those who are homeless are seeking help.  I am currently working with an organization that has been going out in groups to locate homeless camps in the woods, under highway overpasses, etc. and offering them shelter.  With that, we need to work on not only providing a room for them but training and education to get them back out in the field and allowing them to fend for themselves.

2.  Heroin

This is a issue that has been called to my attention as a local issue but after researching it further, I found that this is worldwide epidemic.  Heroin has been around for a long time, most notably making it's place in the 1950's and moving up but the clientele in which is this deadly drug is attracting is getting younger and younger and the current age for those using heroin are 19 years old, many of them in college.  Education in high school is key or perhaps we can take a book out of the tobacco free campaigns and show the various consequences and staggering statistics, maybe the leading drug consumption numbers will get under 10% like the tobacco free campaign accomplished.

3.  Terrorist attacks.

From the attacks in Paris to the attack in California recently, terrorism is a hot topic in geographic locations around the world and in the current presidential debate.  We are doing all we can to monitor their communication efforts but I feel the help of the group anonymous is  a great effort even stronger than what our government can accomplish.  I find that there needs to be more stringent guidelines for entering the US (and other countries) and we need to do a more thorough investigation of these peoples travel in the past 5 years, social media accounts and perhaps, access to their bank accounts.  This may be extreme and likely not legal but a better filter is needed.

4.  Gun control.

Whether you are pro gun control and anti gun control, I feel the politicians needs to educate themselves more on both positions before signing any bills.  This may entail visiting mental health clinics, visiting victims of those impacted by gun control, victim or protector.

5.  Syria starvation.

What is happening to the people in syria is heart breaking.  These people being starved is a war crime and while there may not be a place for our particular government to intervene, someone has to fight the battle so that those people do not continue to die.  They recently allowed one convoy in for food relief but was provided is only for one month and is being rationed.

6.  Global warming.

The polar ice caps are melting, the weather is unpredictable and the scientist who once predicted this are now saying, I told you so.  We need to create initiatives in college for those wanting to pursue green energy to held come up with a solution; we also need to start fining people for those who choose to not comply with a greener initiative.

7.  Racial tension.

Make the media stop sensationalizing  these stories/allegations; create community meetings and gatherings to show uniformity.

8.  Veteran support.

We are currently taxed for the government to support those in need, sadly, many of those people are veterans who suffer from injuries or post traumatic stress disorder and are not being provided the help they need.  I feel if a person receives benefits, lets use a single mom with 5 kids a an example.  Provide her the tools needed, career development, discounted daycare, etc., to find a job and provide for her own, limit the number of years you can provide that assistance and with more caps on Welfare and such, it will leave more money to help Veterans.

9.  Air quality (specifically in China)

An air quality report is released daily in china, if the air quality exceeds 150, you wear a mask.  Unfortunately I am not as educated in air quality as I would like to be but I would think this falls under the umbrella of global warming and the need for more research.  Further, limitations should be set on what is put out by business, vehicles, etc. and should someone exceed those limitations, they would be fined.  Think of it like a speeding ticket.  Speeding tickets are given if you do not follow the rules of the law.

10.  Managing immigration

While this is often brought up when I watch the GOP, I am actually concerned for my family and friends living in Germany.  The rise of assaults and sexual crimes has risen in the last 3 months due to them opening their borders for the refugees impacted by the war crimes happening overseas.  We need to relieve those people of the danger they are in the middle of but not at the expense of another countries safety.  A tighter screening process would help but perhaps looking into a more isolated piece of land where they can rebuild from scratch would be more fitting.  Further, any person who is currently residing in another country as an immigrant should have stipulations, should they commit a crime, not hold a job for longer than 3 months or be a suspect in a act of terrorism, they should be deported.