Dear Mrs. / Mr. President,

Congratulations on becoming the president; however, there are many problems this nation faces. Hopefully with cooperation across partisan lines and between the American people, we can make decisions that benefit the nation. Everyone wants a better future for the nation; we all want what’s the best for our future generations and for America. Many issues will be faced by your administration; I consider the following issues to be of the upmost importance:

The Legalization of Marijuana

The war on drugs has failed, with millions of people incarcerated over non-violent drug offenses, one of the most harmless being marijuana. Marijuana has been legalized for medical use and recreationally in many states, and possibly many more depending on the November state proposition voting. The states with legalized marijuana have had great success, generating additional tax revenue, regulating the substance, and reducing crime rates with illegal dealing. It is time for the federal government to make a national change; remove marijuana from the illegal substance list or at least remove it from being a class one drug. Substances that are just as harmful are perfectly legal and the legalization will allow for further research concerning the drug and the regulation of the drug. Too many people have had their lives ruined, not from the drug itself, but the persecution involved with marijuana.

The Criminal Justice System

Many issues exist with the current criminal justice system; the issue that I’d like to focus on would be the use of privately owned prisons to house federal and state prisoners. While the federal government is working towards phasing out the use of privatized prisons, larger steps must be taken to end this infringement on the liberties of the American people. Private prisons run to generate profit; they don’t want to rehabilitate prisoners because they make more money if those prisoners continue their life of crime and come back. The eighth amendment calls for no cruel or unusual punishment; when the criminal justice system is run by the state and the entire judicial process is a government affair, placing those convicted into private institutions can be considered cruel and unusual especially because most of these prisons do not uphold the same standards as government-run institutions. Every citizen is guaranteed the right to a fair trial and every citizen should also be guaranteed the right to a fair imprisonment. End the injustice of our justice system; ban the use of privatized prisons nationwide.

The Pursuit of Higher Education

It is now harder than ever to pursue a higher education- there is higher demand, a larger emphasis, and a higher cost to obtain a college degree. The federal government can help to lessen the impact of college tuition fees upon people of lower socioeconomic status. The lower class needs a college education to improve their quality of life; however, making college completely free isn’t feasible. If something is free, it will be abused or taken for granted. But we also need to reward those who complete college and graduate. Government subsidies should be put towards paying off part of the tuition after students graduate, so that if they complete higher education they are not later crushed by debt. Another possible solution would be little to no interest government loans for college students to help them start their adult lives and obtain higher education without the threat of debt increasing rapidly.

To Conclude

America faces many problems that require incredibly complex solutions. My input and recommendations are not perfect. I don’t have solutions to all of these problems, nobody does. If the answers were so simple, the problems would already be solved. It will take cooperation between parties, among politicians, and among the American people to achieve success for our generation and future generations. Ultimately, no matter what party, gender, race, or socioeconomic standing a person comes from; we all want the same thing, a prosperous America. Hopefully you can achieve this ideal that America continues to strive for.

Sincerely,

Grant Hoffman