When the new Congress comes to town next year, more serious problems will be waiting for them than at any time in recent memory. There are a number of items that must be dealt with and some of them are set out below.

• The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan must be ended.

• Our nation’s economy must be put back in shape.

• Green jobs must be created and the economy stabilized with clean, sustainable and renewable energy.

• Putting homeowners ahead of big bosses in the massive Wall Street/auto industry bailout must happen.

• Boosting wages, insuring import safety and protecting the environment by replacing the failed NAFTA/WTO trade model must be a priority.

• The safety of toys, pharmaceuticals and other products must be ensured.

• The right to trial by jury – guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution — must be preserved.

• Mandatory, binding arbitration in all consumer contracts and transactions must be banned.

• Arbitration in all nursing home admission agreements must also be banned.

• Passing tough and effective campaign finance reform measures is a necessity.

• Government must be cleaned up and ties between lawmakers and big corporate dollars and lobbyists broken.

• Strong restrictions on lobbyists must be passed.

• Our military must be made strong again.

• All of the bad stuff the Bush gang did in their last days must be reversed.

Obviously, there are many more issues that should be addressed as soon as possible. President-elect Obama and leaders in Congress from both parties must have their list of priorities in order and workable plans made long before the first of the year. Without a doubt, the economy has to be the first order of business. If you could set the agenda for Congress, what would your top priorities be?

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