Africa
Work to get the U.S. and international companies that manufacture electronics to implement appropriate e-waste programs and develop appropriate domestic e-waste disposal policies as part of their corporate operations.
The current focus of much public and private development assistance to Africa is a waste of actual African talent when in fact a great deal of what Africa needs is a result of policies that are not being implemented in the U.S. Africa is a major contributor of precious minerals and other material necessary for the high-end electronics sector and is also one of the major disposal sites for decommissioned electronic devices. This is completely inconsistent with any sustainable long-term trade or partnership policy. American and other companies need to clean up their operations domestically rather than dump the load on Africa and then seek tax breaks via “philanthropic” endeavors. Appropriate tear downs on decommissioned electronics can actually yield a great deal of recyclable materials as well as educational benefits if appropriately implemented. It can even provide international partnerships of autonomy rather than ones of dependence.
Asia
Work with China to track large-scale securities and other finance/investment instruments and implement a comprehensive anti-money laundering system.
Insofar as China is one of the U.S.’s major competitors, it is also potentially one of the largest havens for laundering money out of the U.S. — and Chinese — economy that could be legitimately used to benefit the peoples and the enterprises of the U.S. and China. I contend that rather than be afraid of Chinese technology we should strive to engage it in the most comprehensive manner. With nearly 20 percent of the world’s population China can either be a major obstacle in our national stability or it can be an opportunity to take on the most formidable foe shared by both countries. Global anti-money laundering movements are already in motion and often challenge the U.S. publicly for not applying appropriate resources to the task of confronting the myriad problems encountered in addressing money laundering operations. These are the sorts of operations that finance acts of domestic and international terrorism and require the participation and cooperation of those with substantial resources to invest and protect.
Europe
Immigration and Pension Reform should be primary areas of partnership between the U.S. and Europe.
The European financial system is currently and has been for at least the last decade involved in a serious reassessment of its priorities regarding immigration and how to support its existing population. There have already been a number of efforts to attempt to influence the European pension system and I contend these are directly connected to the European attitude on its immigration policies. The U.S. is experiencing the same scenario domestically. Rather than attempting to hide behind bureaucracy and maintain a facade that the European social system is so distinctly different from the U.S.’s let’s be accurate in identifying the nexus of common pension funding operations that influence public policy and impact the situations in the countries of origin for those who are immigrating. This also entails directly confronting issues concerning intellectual property rights; appropriate law enforcement monitoring, reporting and surveillance; and the role of fintech in pension schemes and the movements of peoples.