October 30, 2009
Idea of the Day: Costs and Benefits of the Green Bank
In a clean-energy project, the Green Bank can potentially reduce the cost of debt by half—to about 4.5 percent in today’s credit markets from around 8.5 percent without federal support.

October 29, 2009
Idea of the Day: Ending Medical Bankruptcy
Families forced into bankruptcy, people with chronic conditions going without necessary care, and low-income families experiencing the squeeze of unexpected medical bills are merely symptoms of the larger problems in our health care system.

October 28, 2009
Idea of the Day: Restoring Markets for Low-Carbon Energy
Creating dependable markets and driving demand for low-carbon energy is critical to giving the private sector the security it needs to make capital-intensive investments.

October 27, 2009
Idea of the Day: The Role of Public and Private Sector in the Clean Energy Economy
Private sector investments will be the main engine driving growth in the clean energy economy. The scale of the energy transformation is simply too large for public sector resources and programs to tackle alone.

October 26, 2009
Idea of the Day: Rebuilding America Through Energy Efficiency
Energy efficiency retrofits in our nation’s existing building stock offers an exceptional opportunity to lay the foundation for sustained economic growth.

October 23, 2009
Idea of the Day: Investing in a Green Recovery
This analysis shows that these two measures operating together can generate roughly $150 billion per year in new clean-energy investments in the United States over the next decade.

October 22, 2009
Idea of the Day: Community Colleges Can Be Education Leaders
The AGI and its supporting legislation must embrace community colleges as key institutions

October 21, 2009
Idea of the Day: Managing Community Colleges Through Evidence-Based Management
Evidence-based management has been used effectively at the municipal and state level in public safety, citizen services, and health care.

October 20, 2009
Idea of the Day: Encouraging Faculty and Student Entrepreneurship
The AGI and final legislation should include a “faculty-student” entrepreneurship prize of $250,000 to the team of faculty and students that actually change curricula and programs in a way that leads to sustainable new course offerings and credentials.

October 19, 2009
Idea of the Day: Matching Funds for Grants Should Come from Community Colleges' Operating Budgets
America’s Graduation Initiative and eventual legislation should require that the 50 percent matching funds schools have to provide should come from their operating budget funds.

October 16, 2009
Idea of the Day: Erase the ‘Line in the Sand’ Between Not-for-Credit and For-Credit Coursework
Occupational skills training can be anything from taking a class as part of preparing to be a plumber to project management or Oracle certification.

October 15, 2009
Idea of the Day: A Health Care System that Works for All Americans
Creating a health care system—a true system—that works well for all Americans is the most important goal.

October 14, 2009
Idea of the Day: Elements of an Effective Climate Strategy
Renewable energy, forest conservation and sustainable land use, and adaptation provide substantial economic, security, and environmental benefits that make them attractive beyond their value as responses to climate change.

October 13, 2009
Idea of the Day: Getting Back on the Road to Recovery
Adding still further to the already towering deficit is a difficult and painful task, but it is the necessary consequence of years of economic mismanagement.

October 9, 2009
Idea of the Day: Targeted Home Buying Credits
Targeted home buying credits could help parts of the country that were especially hit hard by the recession and housing crisis.

October 8, 2009
Idea of the Day: Investing in Clean-Energy Technologies
The United States must expand its clean-energy policy vision to support the small and midsize component manufacturers.

October 7, 2009
Idea of the Day: Transportation Infrastructure in a Low-Carbon Economy
The infrastructure for distributing and storing clean fuels such as ethanol, biodiesel, and electricity is scarce and underdeveloped, as are most mass transit systems nationwide.

October 6, 2009
Idea of the Day: Ensuring Equal Economic Benefits for Minorities
Disparities between minorities and whites have been exacerbated since the start of the recession at the end of 2007.

October 5, 2009
Idea of the Day: Rewiring the Electrical Grid
We need to rewire the grid and overlay it with a new generation of information technology and “smart” components to increase its performance, efficiency, resilience, and security.

October 2, 2009
Idea of the Day: Financing Clean-Energy Deployment through a 'Green Bank'
The Green Bank could also support an innovative financing mechanism for energy efficiency retrofits and small-scale renewable energy systems.

October 1, 2009
Idea of the Day: Incentives to Spur Supply and Demand for New Technologies
The federal government should extend these types of incentives and allocate adequate resources for promising new technologies.