A Letter To The President Of The United States
Dear President Obama:

First and foremost, I’d like to congratulate you on winning your second presidential term. In these last four years, you’ve managed to keep our nation on the path forward; from the 2008 financial crisis to the natural disaster that struck the East Coast in late October. I know that taking on this job wasn’t an easy task, as it required countless compromises with our divided Congress. Despite all of this, there are still some major issues that have yet to be resolved from your previous administration. Now is the time for you to do the job that Americans elected you to do. If no drastic changes are made during this term, what are the odds that they’ll be made in the future? To help ensure that the right decisions are made this time around, here are some suggestions on what I believe are the best ways of resolving these issues while keeping the average American in mind…
1 The Fiscal Cliff
This has been a very complex issue to deal with, but depending on what morals and interests you have, the choice should be clear. I believe that the best way to resolve this is to go over the cliff, and then make a deal when the new Congress convenes in late January. This would mean that the tax hikes and spending cuts would be spread over two years, cutting over $1 trillion from the deficit. As a result, a deep recession would be avoided and cuts wouldn’t have to be made to programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Extending the cliff will only increase the deficit and the same problems will keep repeating year after year.
2 Make Public Investments
According to Salon.com, “more than twenty million Americans are unemployed, underemployed, or have given up searching for work altogether.” Invest in infrastructure to create more jobs. By improving roads, bridges, and other forms of the infrastructure with high rates of return, the federal government can both put millions of Americans back to work and provide more jobs in the future. Invest in education and job training to gain a stable workforce that is educated and able to compete in the real world.
3 Lower Taxes For The Middle Class
Keep taxes low for the middle class. Continue the President’s payroll tax cut and extend the Bush tax cuts for income under $250,000. Also, raise taxes for people earning an income of over $250,000 to an equal rate to save $1 trillion over 10 years and to lessen the burden on millions of Americans.
4 Recognize Palestine As Its Own State
With the ongoing violence, more people are becoming against the two-state solution again. The aim of your Administration should be to achieve a Palestine and Israel living in security side by side. The Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, recently took Palestine’s bid for statehood back to the UN. That means that the US, Israel’s closest ally, will have one more opportunity to revive the vital two-state solution by supporting the initiative. So far, the US has blocked it. You can and should recognize Palestine and help end the violence.

5 Be The Leader Of Climate Change
In 2008 you insisted that there would be a moment when, “the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal.” Well, since that year, there have been floods, snowstorms in October, sweltering summers, and two major hurricanes on the East Coast. The devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy (economical, physical, and emotional) played an important role in your re-elected that fateful week. Even though this had no real impact on the outcome of the NJ polls either way- you became the savior of thousands of New Jersey residents, assuring them and the entire country that you could be depended on in times of crisis. It is evident that carbon emissions cause the warming of the planet and a rise of sea levels. In this second term, it is your responsibility to be the leader for climate change. Oppose the Keystone XL Pipeline from Alberta to the Mid-West, end fossil fuel subsidies, and help establish a transition into clean energy.
6 Get Big Money Out Of Politics
Private money has always played a big role in U.S. politics. But this election was reported to be the most expensive election in US history. Thanks in large part to the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision – deeming corporations as individuals and therefore allowing them to endorse candidates with as much as $6 billion, which was spent trying to influence the 2012 U.S. election. You know that this is an undemocratic thing to do, and you have the power to turn it off. It’s hard to keep faith in a democratic system when a corporation has the power to swing elections with money. You can restore our faith by championing a 28th amendment to overturn Citizens United and limit campaign spending
7 Improve Public Education

Your Race to the Top program threatened to close down our school. Treating schools like a business doesn’t make them any better. One of the hallmarks of American progress in the 19th and early 20th centuries was universal public education. Support and respect our teachers. An approach to reform that is rooted in the best practices, according to research, and that fosters community-school partnerships would be a far more effective model for addressing the racial opportunity gap. Bribing the school systems of the U.S. to fix data to get their hands on that sweet federal money is a sham. You should be ashamed of yourself on this one. You Race to the Top is a cash cow for subcontracting out what your teachers and government can already do.

8 Guns. Get The NRA Out Washington!
PRESIDENT OBAMA, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HAVE GROWN TIRED OF SEEING THEIR FELLOW AMERICANS DIE DAY AFTER DAY FROM GUN VIOLENCE, WHILE YOUR ADMINISTRATION CONTINUES TO PLAY POLITICS WITH OUR LIVES. HOW MANY MORE MASS SHOOTINGS WILL IT TAKE FOR YOU TO STOP THE NRA’S “BARREL” AND FINALLY IMPLEMENT STRICTER GUN CONTROL LAWS? STOP TRYING TO USE THE SECOND AMENDMENT AS JUSTIFICATION FOR YOUR INABILITY TO MAKE A CHANGE. THE SECOND AMENDMENT WAS NOT INTENDED TO JUSTIFY ARMING EVERY TOM, DICK AND HARRY WITH AN ASSAULT WEAPON. NOR WAS IT INTENDED TO JUSTIFY THE PROLIFERATION OF GUNS THAT ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR AN AVERAGE OF 9,470 GUN HOMICIDES PER YEAR (THIS NUMBER IS EXCEEDINGLY HIGHER THAN ALL OTHER HIGH INCOME NATIONS OF THE WORLD, WE’RE #1). IT WAS INTENDED TO ALLOW AMERICANS TO BECOME THEIR OWN ARMY IF A TIME CAME WHEN THEY HAD TO FIGHT AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT’S STANDING ARMY FOR THEIR NEWLY WON FREEDOMS. THE SECOND AMENDMENT HAS BEEN SUPERFLUOUS OR OUTDATED AT THE VERY LEAST. WHAT HAS KEPT YOU FROM REINSTATING THE 1994 ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN THAT EXPIRED IN 2004? ASSAULT RIFLES ARE DESIGNED FOR MILITARY USE, NOT FOR HUNTING SUNDAY NIGHT’S DINNER. GUN CONTROL SEEMED TO BE THE LEAST POPULAR SUBJECT OF YOUR CAMPAIGN THIS YEAR. YOU’VE DONE THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF WHAT YOU PROMISED IN YOUR 2008 CAMPAIGN. YOUR POLICY ON GUNS NEEDS SOME MAJOR CHANGES, IMMEDIATELY. TO START OFF, “REAL”BACKGROUND CHECKS SHOULD BE REQUIRED FOR CONSUMERS OF GUNS SO THAT THESE DEADLY WEAPONS DO NOT END UP IN THE WRONG HANDS. OUR CURRENT SYSTEM IS A JOKE. WEEPY SPEECHES GIVEN EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE WON’T STOP THE VIOLENCE. APPARENTLY, IT WASN’T ENOUGH THAT MILITARY OFFICERS AT FORT HOOD, A CONGRESS MEMBER, UNARMED MOVIE GOERS, VICTIMIZED SIKHS, AND COUNTLESS OTHERS HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY GUN VIOLENCE IN THE LAST FOUR YEARS OF YOUR ADMINISTRATION. IF THE DEATHS OF TWENTY 6 TO 7 YEAR OLD CHILDREN – WITH THEIR ENTIRE LIVES AHEAD OF THEM – AND SIX SCHOOL TEACHERS – WHO RISKED THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR STUDENTS – ISN’T ENOUGH FOR YOU TO SUPPRESS GUN LOBBYISTS, YOU ARE A COLOSAL FAILURE. MY FAITH IN YOU, IN THIS COUNTRY, IN DEMOCRACY, AND IN HUMANITY WILL FOREVER BE LOST IF YOU FAIL TO GET THESE TYPES OF “LEGALLY PURCHASED” WEAPONS OFF THE STREETS.

Sincerely,
Shayhan Lewis