FEDERAL BUDGET
The budget blueprint that President Barack Obama released on Thursday is an ambitious plan for action that stands apart from previous efforts for its integrity. Michael Ettlinger praised the budget’s honesty in acknowledging the tough road ahead and the necessary steps to recovery. Other CAP experts broke down specific funding proposals, including Lawrence J. Korb on defense, Cynthia G. Brown and Melissa Lazarin on education, Karen Davenport on health care, and Daniel J. Weiss on energy.
ENERGY
A new report from Bracken Hendricks addresses the pressing need to modernize the electrical grid to meet today’s energy challenges and offers policy solutions to help achieve this goal. Our Smart Grid 101 breaks down the basics on the grid, while another infographic explains the four components necessary to building a clean energy pipeline. The National Clean Energy Summit, hosted by CAPAF, brought together leaders from government and the private sector to discuss opportunities for jumpstarting the transition to the low-carbon economy.
RELIGION & VALUES
The cascade of job losses over the past year is not only an economic crisis but also a moral one, intertwined with our human dignity, wrote Susan Thistlethwaite. And while prominent conservatives have used the recession as an excuse to teach the nation lessons about thrift and personal responsibility, Sally Steenland argues for progressive moral leadership to help us through these tough times. The 111th Congress, says Sarah Dreier, is equipped to deal with this challenge, as it is the most religiously diverse Congress yet.
ECONOMY
Christian Weller released his monthly economic snapshot, showing a bleak picture of how the recession is affecting Americans, while Joshua Picker analyzes the failure of the Bush tax cuts to create job growth.
EDUCATION
In his speech to Congress and the nation Tuesday night, President Barack Obama set a bold goal of retaking America’s global leadership in the number of college graduates by 2020, a sound and necessary goal, wrote Louis Soares. Robin Chait and Michele McLaughlin also released a report detailing ways that state and local policy can support alternative teacher certification programs.