On Monday, Donald John Trump, 78, became the 47th president of the United States.

If the pundits are right, and they probably are in this case, he has a fat laundry list of executive orders ready to sign implementing his campaign promises. Top of the list is a pledge to go after undocumented immigrants, and that should spark outrage on the left and confusion in the top ranks of the MAGA crowd. It seems a pair of POTUS pals, Elon Musk and Steve Bannon, are squabbling over immigrant visas. And that will play out in due course.

For those not invited to the gala celebrations, it is a time to watch, wait, and hope for the best.

Right off the bat, his pledge to increase our paychecks, cut electric bills, and slash gas prices will bring cheers from all sides.

I wondered how his threat to impose tariffs on our neighbor Canada could translate to our family expenses, as Maine imports lots of electricity from Canada. How will this affect your electric bill?

It will, but maybe not so much, says William Harwood, the state utility public advocate in an email to my favorite newspaper:

“Maine typically imports a little over 2 million MWH/yr from Canada. (This does not include future imports over the NECEC transmission line currently under construction.) Assuming an average price of approximately $50/MWH, the total cost would be approximately $100M/yr. Assuming no change in quantity or price and the full amount of the tariff is passed on to consumers, the proposed 25% tariff would cost consumers (throughout New England) approximately $25M/yr. If the total ($25M/yr.) were absorbed just by Maine consumers, a typical CMP or Versant residential ratepayer would see a bill increase of just over $1 month.”

Thanks to the advocate for that news, so we should not see much of a hike in our electric bills.

That is good news. But don’t bet on it. For some reason or another, our CMP bill seems to go up on its own, with no help from the eggheads and true believers in MAGA land.

The new POTUS has promised to keep hands off of your Social Security and Medicare. But, and it is a big but, he also said he wants to slash government spending. Can you do that without touching the big-ticket items that make up the almost $4 trillion budget?

What are the big-ticket items? About half goes to health and welfare programs like Social Security and Medicaid. The Defense Department spends about 20%, and about 6% is interest on the debt. The rest is spent on other government programs.

Will the Congressional debt hawks slash their mother's and grandmother's monthly Social Security checks? It is highly doubtful they will cut them if they want to be welcomed home for Easter and Thanksgiving.

Will they cut the defense budget? I doubt it. Can they find other savings based on the usual political talking points that target fraud, waste and abuse? Sure they will. Will they find enough FW&A to make a big dent in the $4 trillion price tag? Who knows?

Will national officials help our local communities facing millions in budget hits from climate change, including local repairs triggered by last year's storm damages? These include millions in road repairs, waterfront losses, and school building repair projects.

Our family budgets, including homeowners insurance, may jump following recent natural disasters. Our friends and relatives in Louisiana and Florida are seeing substantial insurance hikes. California homeowners may face the same.

But some firms, like Allstate and State Farm, no longer sell insurance in some California zip codes. What will that do to real estate markets? Don't lenders usually require homeowners insurance before granting a mortgage to borrowers?

This week marks the beginning of the new president's final term in office, and he faces huge tasks at home and abroad. I like that the honchos in the last administration teamed up with the experts named by the incoming administration to end the seemingly endless conflicts in the holy land. It is a good sign when political rivals work together to solve national challenges.

However, I fear it will take a lot more than snarky slogans spouted from a podium or online to make a dent in our local, national and international challenges. Now, it is time for the new team to take the field. Good luck to all.

In the meantime, here is some good news: The major league baseball pitchers and catchers report for spring training Feb. 9-15.