That Donald Trump 鈥淢ake America Great Again鈥 theme overlooks that America is great 鈥 for those with high incomes, students with paid-up tuition at good colleges, Fortune 500 companies and the trough-feeders within the power structures.

So if I were running for president, my theme would be, 鈥淢ake America Great For Everyone.鈥

I read a newspaper article proposing that too many well-off Americans live inside hardened bubbles which shield them from knowing the hard lives of those outside.

They鈥檙e disconnected from those living paycheck-to-paycheck, constantly in debt and with no hope of a comfortable retirement at 65 or 70 鈥 or ever.

Businessman Donald Trump has gotten lots of mileage from his "Make America Great Again" campaign slogan. But the beneficiaries of that greatness would stand to be those who are already doing fine, this writer argues.
Businessman Donald Trump has gotten lots of mileage from his “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan. But the beneficiaries of that greatness would stand to be those who are already doing fine. 

I鈥檓 not a socialist, so I don鈥檛 consider total equality for all to be a realistic goal. But there certainly are ways to mitigate the inequalities.

Foremost would be to end those absurd salaries lavished on many corporate executives. If there鈥檚 that much money slushing around in the company, and it鈥檚 not needed for internal investment, hand some of it out to the lower-paid employees. No executive needs or should get $100 million a year.

Reform the income tax. If we鈥檙e going to keep the IRS system, require highest earners to pay around 70 percent in federal tax 鈥 and no corporation should be let off with paying little or no tax because of deductions and loopholes in the 74,608-page-long federal tax code.

If Congress cannot agree on a simplified, fair taxation system within five years, then mandate a switch to a consumption tax on everything but food. That鈥檚 the 鈥渧alue added鈥 tax so many other countries have.

We need single-payer national health insurance, but the more-equal-than-others keep that at bay.

Employers have been dropping individual medical coverage for employees, telling them to go on the Obamacare system. But the Affordable Care Act has become unaffordable for many not quite qualifying for the subsidy. We need single-payer national health insurance, but the more-equal-than-others keep that at bay. They want medical service their money can buy quicker and better.

Locally, we should feel unequal as we discover that state Senate President Ron Kouchi has land he wanted the state to purchase for $14 million or more (though he was unable to pass the legislation that would have provided for that.)

Many of our people are not as adept at handling their finances as Sen. Kouchi, Mr. Trump or former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. They save and invest poorly. Every school should have required courses in mortgage shopping, investing and budgeting. Maybe political ethics, too!

Our local government in a Great For Everyone America would adopt the Singapore model, which creates public housing everyone can afford. We price renters out of the market to make way for high-end condos and vacation rentals and seed an Oahu homeless crisis that should have been foreseen.

These ideas are just starters. I鈥檓 betting that you readers have many more (and maybe better) to offer.

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