When a country has a number of different major problems, such as the United States faces today, it's crucial that an incoming president and a new Congress make a clear decision about their priorities.
Or perhaps I should have said "priority." Because a president may have time to do only one major thing before he faces midterm elections. If his priority (singular) hasn't succeeded, he may find his legs cut out from under him at the midterms, precluding the pursuit of any further "priorities."
Yes, an administration should be able to do more than one thing at a time. But this has been the pattern of almost every recent previous administration. Most presidents have had favorable congressional arrangements for their first two years, but have blown it, resulting in the opposing party gaining control at the midterm and thus frustrating the second half of that president's term.
The next president and Congress must make economic growth Job #1.
Yes, of course, controlling deficits, entitlement reform, tax reform, fixing health care and energy expansion are important, but they're much harder without faster economic growth. In fact, faster economic growth is the key to making them possible.
The temptation for Republicans will be to put repeal of Obamacare and passing a spending-cuts budget ahead of economic growth. Unfortunately spending cuts alone, while important, have been oversold by the Right as a factor for economic growth. Spending cuts address the debt problem, not the economic growth problem.
Tax reform is critical and related to economic growth, but tax reform will take time. The incoming president and Congress must consider steps retroactive to January 1, 2013, that can jump-start economic growth immediately, such as an investment tax credit, accelerated depreciation and much larger expensing limits, a capital gains cut, and repatriation of corporate profits trapped overseas. These policies will stimulate immediate economic growth and ease the pursuit of the other important policy goals.
If our incoming leaders hope to execute the list of promises they've made to voters and, in the process, rescue the American economy, they're going to need to be buoyed on a tide of increased economic growth. That's why economic growth has to be Job #1.