Five best-selling authors, Speaker Hall of Fame recipients, internationally-acclaimed business consultants and best buddies give their insights on business and life.

From Larry Winget:

1.  A 10%, across the board, cut on ALL government spending. Everyone and everything in government bites the bullet equally with no playing favorites. There is plenty of waste in government and 10% is a great starting place.
2. Incentivize businesses to grow, hire, create and manufacture. You can fix a whole lot that is wrong with our country by putting more people back to work. Cut taxes, re-align healthcare and get off the backs of small business.
3. Immigration: A path to citizenship for those already here and who wish to do the work be here legally and pay taxes. And all companies pay taxes on ALL employees. No under the table BS anymore.
4. Stop paying congress forever and cut lifetime benefits. Plus, they live by the same laws we do. And they must vote on everything put before congress without exception. Their only job is to vote, so vote or get fired. All votes will be posted online for everyone to see.  Complete transparency.
5. Term limits. Two terms maximum for everyone, and then you go back to work. No more lifetime politicians.
6. Entitlements must be addressed. We cannot sustain the increasing dependency on government. Period.

Larry Winget, the Pitbull of Personal Development®, is a six-time NYT/WSJ bestselling author, social commentator and appears regularly on many national television news shows. To find out more, go to www.LarryWinget.com.

From Joe Calloway:

What matters, of course, is the “how to.”  200 words isn’t much “how to” space – but here are my priorities:

1. Jobs & Economy. Jobs reduce crime, raise the standard of living for all, make people healthier, and generate tax revenue for progress. There are 4.5 million open jobs in America today. GOOD jobs. We have to train our workforce so that we can fill them.
2. Education and training. Incentivize improved performance in schools across the boards in K-12 and support industrial training and community colleges.
3. Healthcare. There is no reason, beyond purely partisan idiocy, that we cannot have a world-class healthcare system available to all of our citizens.
4. Infrastructure. We’re falling apart.
5. National Security. Stay out of world situations that is none of our business and pose no threat – BUT – when people are oppressed, it IS our business to give them help to the extent possible. If you think it’s not – don’t vote for me. I hate bullies.
6. Protection of our rights. We are all as free as the one person whose constitutional rights are violated.  Congress enacts, the President enforces, the Supreme Court determines constitutionality.

For the “how to” – I’ll need another two hundred words. At least.

Joe Calloway helps great companies get even better. www.JoeCalloway.com

From Mark Sanborn:

My platform agenda emphasizes education, healthcare and the economy. Improvements in any one improve the other two.

If you get education, healthcare and the economy right, most of the other issues will take care of themselves.

Education has the ability to raise the standard of living for everyone, most importantly those who haven’t benefited from the opportunities of good education in the past.

Healthcare should be readily available to all and fairly priced. The current system does provide more healthcare to those who weren’t covered in the past but in many cases by penalizing those who have seen their premiums go up and their coverage go down.

A strong economy is built on enterprise, not entitlement. We should help those who cannot help themselves, not those who will not help themselves. But that isn’t enough. Government should oversee but not burden wealth creators, entrepreneurs and businesses.

One big challenge for our economy is our current system of taxation. It is convoluted and often a disincentive to enterprise. It needs drastic revision.

Educated, healthy citizens build a strong economy while building a meaningful life, and a strong economy makes us a strong nation in the world.

Mark Sanborn is president of Sanborn & Associates, Inc., an idea studio for leadership development. He is an award-winning speaker bestselling author of books including, The Fred Factor. For more information and free resources, visit www.marksanborn.com.

From Scott McKain:

I would become the “Education President” – because, if you didn’t get your education, you aren’t going to like me.

In 2013, about 7% of high school students dropped out.  For every 1,000,000 students there are SIXTY-EIGHT THOUSAND who enter the workforce without even a high school diploma.

How will we stay competitive and expand opportunities in America with so many who are uneducated?  I’m not certain that we can.  And, with the way retirement and health care programs are funded, we must have a workforce that can produce now and in the future.

Here’s the deal – as Ross Perot used to stay: Drop out of high school, go directly into national service.  Military, Peace Corps, or some residential vocational training program – you aren’t going to quit school and sit in the house.  You remain until age 22 – the time you would be graduating from college.  You can forget your driver’s license, too – you’ll be living in the barracks.

Finally – I respect “free speech.” But, if you drop out of school, you don’t get to complain about “income inequality” in twenty years because a classmate busted her butt to become an engineer or doctor and is making multiples of your paycheck.

Scott McKain teaches how organizations and individual professionals can create distinction in their marketplace, and deliver the “Ultimate Customer Experience ®.” For more information: www.ScottMcKain.com.

From Randy Pennington:

Most of my priorities align with others you have read here and for basically the same reasons. The majority of our problems will take care of themselves when we fix education, the economy, infrastructure; healthcare; and defense.

Additionally, I would …

1. Govern from the middle. Gridlock is not the goal. It’s time for the President to focus on what’s possible rather than what’s political.
2. Fix immigration. Keeping criminals out and taking swift action with those who break our laws is the minimum. We must also repair the lousy process for legally entering the country. Good people wait in line for years while violators jump ahead. We need a process that doesn’t penalize those who want to play by the rules and contribute to our society and economy.
3. Make the government work. The President’s focus is often captured by unplanned crisis. Most citizens, however, interact with the government through routine services. Flawless execution in areas that touch people every day is the right thing to do, and it saves money.
4. Immediately enlist the other members of the Five Friends to help. There is too much to do to risk not having people you trust to be on the team.

Randy Pennington helps leaders deliver positive results in a world of accelerating change and disruption. He is an award-winning author, speaker, and consultant. To find out more, go to www.penningtongroup.com.