One of trump’s more prominent shortcomings is his complete lack of Ideas. The man has never brought forth an original or even realistic idea since he announced his candidacy for president. And the ideas he does suggest are often the same tired GOP strategies that have failed time and time again. This aspect of Trump’s presidency often goes unreported, and with the media being bombarded with near-daily scandals it is easy to understand why. After all, one does tend to ignore their dirty fingernails when being chased by a clown. But we should be paying close attention because be it the absurd border wall or another soon to fail attempt at trickle-down economics, Trump’s shortage of good ideas is not only failing to solve massive issues plaguing our country but many times he is making them worse.

Opioid epidemic

America is currently suffering from an opioid epidemic. According to the Center for Disease Control, almost 64,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2016 alone. This problem has received bipartisan concern with many looking to the White House for possible solutions. Last October, during a white house address, Trump offered his solution: create advertisements encouraging children to avoid drug use. Yes, if only these heroin addicts could see the egg in the frying pan commercial from 1985 they would put down the needle.

Obviously, we should encourage kids not to use drugs, but an ad campaign does nothing to help those who are already hopelessly addicted. And Trump’s constant attempts to butcher healthcare is exacerbating the problem as addicts will now have even less access to treatment.

No one expects Trump to come up with a miracle to solve a problem as big as opioid addiction, but this ridiculous idea to make commercials just shows how little thought he has put into this issue. If Trump were serious about solving this problem, he would look to other countries, such as Portugal and Switzerland, who have had significant success curbing addiction using unorthodox strategies.

Of course, admitting any other country could come up with a good idea—that doesn’t involve a military parade—is tantamount to treason in Trump’s “America First” administration.

Trump on energy

Trump’s approach to energy is just as archaic as his opioid solutions and just as damaging. The president routinely advocates for coal, which he sees as the answer to America’s energy future.

Yes, the same coal that Ebenezer Scrooge used to heat his lonely mansion. And yes, the same coal that is destroying the environment and, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, provides fewer jobs than J.C. Penney.

Unfortunately for Trump, the world is moving on whether he wants it to or not. Solar energy now employs nearly four times as many people as coal, according to the Department of Energy, and is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. The draw to solar is a no-brainer as it provides inexpensive, clean energy without causing black lung in its employees and no one needs to remove the top of a mountain to extract it. But Trump isn’t going quietly on this issue. He recently decided to impose massive tariffs on all solar panel imports which, according to The Solar Energy Industries Association, will result in thousands of American workers losing their jobs.

Trump’s complete lack of forward-thinking doesn’t bode well for the future of our country. Automation will soon leave many Americans unemployed and in need of retraining. Climate change will continue to have a massive impact on agriculture and coastal living. We need our top minds working to find solutions to these problems, not someone who watches Fox News all day and occasionally tries to recycle a terrible idea from a past generation. A country is only as great as their ideas, and America’s proverbial lightbulb burnt out November 8, 2016.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED