The next president may face the most challenging term of office since the Civil War. Societal changes, economic challenges, geopolitical forces and technology will converge, requiring difficult, but perhaps unpopular, decisions to properly address the long-term consequences.

Whoever wins the election will be despised by half the population. Media is most profitable when people hear what reinforces their views, rather than an unbiased analysis of issues. Furthermore, media maximizes its profitability when it stirs up anger and resentment. This will make building a bipartisan consensus nearly impossible.

In addition to any transitional chaos that may occur just as the new president takes office, two major issues — the national debt ceiling and the second phase of the dockworkers’ strike — will require immediate resolution.

From an economic perspective, 2024 was a year when inflation decreased by 3% without going into a recession. That has never happened before, so the Fed and Treasury Department deserve some credit for this achievement. However, both candidates have made economic promises that they either will be unable to keep or, if implemented, will result in massive government spending that will be inflationary.

Domestic government debt already........

© Santa Clarita Valley Signal