So, Donald Trump won in a fairly normal election outcome. Won by a reasonable Electoral College count and a very high plurality of popular votes. A good, solid win.  Here we are: Trump V2. Let’s hope a few things have been learned and we can all look forward to a mutually prosperous future.   Trump has been handed a once-in-a-generation opportunity. He will control all levers of government. After stewing on his loss for four years, he’s now been vindicated. It’s a personal victory for the history books. That man is tenacious like a tiger if nothing else. He stuck with it and wow – he’s baaack.  Now, what’s he going to do with opportunity? His go-to seems to be vengeance. Punish his past enemies. Retaliate against people, states, and government operations that didn’t or don’t support him. Rail against journalists, reporters, entire networks that are unfavorable to him.   More, his tendency is to puff up and pound his chest, flex his presidential muscles like some sort of Oval Office Hulk Hogan. You’ve heard it now. Day One: 25% tariffs against Mexico and Canada and 10% against China. He’s going to show the world who’s the boss! Bull in a China shop kind of stuff. Toss fluoride out of water; have the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) slash the federal workforce, gut agencies and perhaps even hack at social benefits. Throw 8 million aliens into detainment camps and ship ’em all out.  We’ve heard it all. Like Jesus in the Temple overturning the tables, Trump says he’ll turn the world on its head and make America great again.  This kind of talk is great for stimulating his base, but these abrupt and extreme actions haven’t been fully thought through. No doubt, there’s a lot of work to do in Washington and plainly some waste, and maybe Trump is the guy to get it done. He won! Now he can stop running for the presidency and start managing the country to make American lives better – if he manages well.  We don’t need the bluster or the politicking anymore. We need to identify our real-world problems and take them on in a productive, systematic approach.  Trump has all the tools to thoughtfully improve government and reengineer some of our plaguing problems.  Foremost is our $35 trillion deficit. Any actions that increase rather than decrease our enormous deficit problem aren’t making America great. It’s dooming its future and eating our budget alive. Shell games, empty promises, and trickle-downs won’t solve the problem.  This one’s complex and hard. Will Trump face it for realsies?  Food inflation remains a problem. Do we really want to toss out the very folks who process your meat and poultry and pick your vegetables? Maybe a different approach might work, like a new well-monitored guest worker visa program?  After all, we don’t have endless lines of Americans rushing to pick your lettuce 10 hours a day …  I’m concerned about elder care. Boomers are aging out fast, and we’ll need far more folks entering the health care and in-home care business. Rather than toss all aliens out and lock our borders tight, perhaps we need a targeted immigration program that welcomes immigrants trained in nursing and senior care?  We need more nurses and doctors, not less – and some nations have surpluses we could invite in to help our seniors in serious need.  Our homeless situation isn’t just a California problem. We’ve got root issues that have produced an estimated 1-2 million homeless that sadly degrade our cities while they suffer themselves. With all the tools of government at hand might we address root issues and once and for all, solve this sad issue that plagues us?  Breakdown of family. Poverty. Ignorance. Joblessness. Drug addiction.  Again, a complex issue President Trump should face with full seriousness.  Technology is exploding exponentially. Like it or not, artificial intelligence and robotics will soon wipe out nearly all manufacturing and logistics jobs. Uber? Forget it … autonomous cars are surely coming for your driving gig.  Ditto for many creative and thinking jobs. Screenwriting jobs? A I can do 90% of the work, eliminating much of the human effort in producing content.  On and on, traditional workplace jobs will become obsolete.  Jobs may become scarcer over the course of Trump’s next four years. The very meaning of “work” may change. Trump has a chance to address this, also.  But contrary to his instincts, this might take more government, not less, as we adjust human work to work with fellow humans instead of with machines.  More teachers? More park and sports coaches? More elder care professionals? More public art?  Robots will take longer to fill those jobs … Something very creative is going to need to be done or we’ll have Hooverville camps the likes we’ve never seen.  Trump has nearly an open slate, as so much is needed even while so much is changing. This is not going to be an easy ride should Trump truly intend to improve life in America.  This guy just pulled off a hat trick in politics. Let’s hope it’s not just a coup. With his newly acquired power, Trump has a chance to land in the history books as not only the greatest comeback politician in history, but also a truly great president meeting a truly challenging time … But only if he wants it.  Let’s hope Trump’s really in it to indeed keep and further make America great. For those who supported him and for Americans, rich or poor, of any color, and in all our varieties. Trump will be the president of all of us. Let’s hope that’s how he uses his newly acquired superpowers.  Gary Horton’s “Full Speed to Port!” has appeared in The Signal since 2006. The opinions expressed in his column do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Signal or its editorial board. The post Gary Horton | Trump: Meeting the Future or Retribution appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.