Center for American Progress Center for American Progress
Issues Idea of the Day2008 August

August

August 29, 2008

Idea of the Day: Enhance Accountability by Measuring Learning and Success in Schools and Colleges

With greater federal investment in colleges and universities to promote readiness must come accountability for results.
August 28, 2008

Idea of the Day: Balanced Media Coverage

Balanced coverage of the economy will require action from both the news media and concerned citizens.
August 27, 2008

Idea of the Day: Federal Policies to Prevent Dropouts

There are strategies federal policy can support for high school dropout prevention and recovery.
August 26, 2008

Idea of the Day: Stability in the Taiwan Strait

Maintaining the now standard set of diplomatic assurances that offer a common language for Beijing and Washington and Taipei is an important starting point for any efforts to address cross-Strait issues. The United States should encourage Beijing and Taipei to continue building commercial, cultural, economic, and other ties to enhance confidence and trust in their interactions.
August 25, 2008

Idea of the Day: Increased Economic and Development Assistance to Pakistan

Instead of focusing so heavily on military aid to Pakistan, the United States should dedicate more of its funding to enhancing security and earning the support of the Pakistani people through increased economic and development assistance.
August 22, 2008

Idea of the Day: Work with China on Climate Change

Tackling climate change in earnest offers the opportunity not only to safeguard the future of our environment but also to enhance the U.S.-China relationship by creating common ground on this critical issue.
August 21, 2008

Idea of the Day: Cooperate with Other Nations to Persuade China

Persuading China to consider its global responsibilities has not been easy, but working through multilateral channels and building international pressure has effectively induced China to modify its stance, at times, on certain controversial issues.
August 20, 2008

Idea of the Day: Prepare for Different Contingencies with China

The United States must always ensure it retains adequate military and diplomatic capacity to handle a variety of scenarios that could result from China’s strengths and weaknesses.
August 19, 2008

Idea of the Day: Embed China in the International System

The United States should move beyond the engagement strategy we’ve pursued for 30 years and seek China’s integration into the international system as a responsible, engaged, and respected stakeholder so it can address urgent global problems such as climate change.
August 18, 2008

Idea of the Day: Establish Coordinated Efforts with Other Attorneys General to Fight Online Fraud

There is no standing multi-state task force on Internet fraud and abuse that pools evidence and ideas, expands jurisdictional authority by having states issue subpoenas on each other’s behalf, and takes collective action.
August 15, 2008

Idea of the Day: Aggressively Investigate Consumer Complaints

Some states follow the FTC model and do not mediate consumer complaints, or mediate only on a limited basis. Thus, complaints may not be investigated. States should consider adopting the mediation approach.
August 14, 2008

Idea of the Day: Evaluate State Laws Applicable to Online Consumer Protection

State attorneys general review their state laws and provide clarity to the relevant units in their offices on what constitutes Internet crime and how such crime should be enforced.
August 13, 2008

Idea of the Day: Develop Computer Forensic Capabilities

Purveyors of online fraud and abuse—and the methods they use—are often extremely difficult to detect. Computer forensics are thus needed to trace and catch Internet fraudsters.
August 12, 2008

Idea of the Day: Build Long-Term Homeland Security Capacity

Across critical areas of homeland security, there is a gap between actions required and available resources. Where possible, homeland security should be self-sustaining and less dependent on the political vagaries of the annual budgeting process.
August 11, 2008

Idea of the Day: Integrate Homeland Security Within National Security Planning, Budgeting, Management, and Oversight

The federal government must not only have an integrated national security strategy, it must support the strategy with a budget that adequately funds all elements of national power.
August 8, 2008

Idea of the Day: Promote Unionization by Enacting the Employee Free Choice Act

Congress should enact and the president should sign and enforce the Employee Free Choice Act. The Act would require employers to recognize a union after a majority of workers signs cards authorizing union representation.
August 7, 2008

Idea of the Day: Address Violence in Teen Pregnancy

We must recognize the role of violence in girls’ reproductive journeys, and emphasize the importance of effective, evidence-based, gender-specific programs and interventions to protect girls from abuse and to heal them if or when it occurs.
August 6, 2008

Idea of the Day: Create "Games for Learning"

Although most games on the market are designed to entertain, the industry is creating a powerful set of capabilities that could also be used for learning.
August 5, 2008

Idea of the Day: Restore Integrity to U.S. Science Policy

Increasingly, making sound decisions regarding health, the environment, energy and climate change, and national security requires input from the scientific community. The public is not well-served when the advice of scientists is suppressed, distorted, or ignored.
August 4, 2008

Idea of the Day: Improve Oversight of Afghanistan Reconstruction Efforts

There are several strategies that the United States can implement in order to improve oversight of reconstruction in Afghanistan.
August 1, 2008

Idea of the Day: Strengthen the Rule of Law in Afghanistan

The Afghan police force is one of the most visible faces of the government at the local level, and its survival and success will be critical to the Afghan state’s continued viability and eventual independence from international security dependency—a fact that Taliban insurgent commanders recognize.