[January 15, 2016] It’s an annual tradition of mine to make forecasts for the New Year and to predict those topics and issues that will be at the top for American senior leaders. Last year it was the presidential election and Islamic terrorism. I predict 2017 will deviate little from last year.
So there should be few surprises in those predictions. What I’m doing this year is adding a new category – Societal Issues – that will bring anxiety (or elation) to some. So I only list the top three items in each category. The biggest news for the U.S. in 2017 will be the implementation of the new U.S. president’s agenda (repeal of ObamaCare, stopping illegal immigration, etc.). Previous predictions for 2015 and 2016 can be found here and here; notwithstanding, of course, a Black Swan event.
Politics and Diplomacy:
- Incoming U.S. President Donald Trump’s priorities, policies, and agenda
- Islamic Terrorism
- Cyber Security
Economics and Business:
- Worsening world economic conditions, including inequality within and among nations
- Climate change and the debate over the cost and impact of energy usage
- The changing impact of China on globalization
Military:
- The spread of advanced and deadly technologies, like nuclear and chemical weapons
- Tactics and Strategies to defeat terrorism
- Leadership failures and investigations
Societal Issues:
- The decline in race relations, the Black Lives Matter movement, and race-inspired attacks on police
- Political Correctness and its effect on social discourse
- Change in and the decline of religion and the family and its impacts
… and here are a few that I don’t believe will be as big an issue but nonetheless important:
- The ongoing investigation of Hillary Clinton’s misuse of classified information
- The effect of our failure to upgrade the nation’s infrastructure
- The ideology of Socialism (and its variants) and its emerging marriage to Islam
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