The Breakthrough Institute, a California think-tank, proposes that the Obama administration invest of the infrastructure for clean energy research. More specifically, Breakthrough proposes that the Obama administration devote $15 Billion to Research and Design, and officially establish National Institutes of Energy, which would center the development and deployment of clean fuels.

President Obama introduced a fee on financial institutions benefitting from the bailout to be detailed in the forthcoming budget. The fee was framed in populist terms, as if the people were asking for their money back. The federal Troubled Asset Relief Program distributed $700 Billion to financial institutions to share the burden of the financial crisis. The fee is intended to recover the federal monies that the banks are not projected to return.

The Obama administration, in its attempt to promote the use of clean energy, proposes an expansion of the federal government's loan guarantee program for the construction of nuclear plants. The proposal is part of the president's annual budget, and comes on the heels of an endorsement of nuclear energy in Obama's State of the Union address.

In Israel today, national service is required of all citizens when they turn 18.  The majority of young Israelis serve in the military; boys serve for three years, girls for two years.  Some complete their service in civilian positions instead, and serve as volunteers.  The government provides those in service with food and lodgings on military bases if they serve on a base, or in shared apartments owned by the national service administration if they volunteer.  If they work close to home, they may live at home. They are provided with a small stipend, and may ride public transport for free if they present their national service cards.  A similar program would benefit the United States.

The threat of climate change demands the efficient use of resources to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  Inexpensive policies that do not require costly technological innovation should be the starting point for addressing environmental sustainability. Current development trends and government policies tend to favor sprawling suburban areas that use land and resources inefficiently.  Suburban developments rely on the prevalence cheap fuel and automobile usage. Suburban developments encroach on pristine areas that are essential to maintaining biodiversity and carbon sinks.  The expansion of suburban sprawl has the possibility of outshining many of the gains of other policies aimed at reducing GHG emissions. High-density or smart growth developments, on the other hand, reverse the consumption of virgin land and use resources more efficiently.
 

Responding to the Obama administration’s push for health care reform, the left-leaning Center for American Progress published a report by Dr. Paul B. Ginsburg, president of the Center for Studying Health System Change and former executive director of what is now the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, which highlights five key methods to lower the costs of health care. This report was published just as President Obama urged Congress to pass health care reform before the end of the year and the health industry promised to cut costs by $2 trillion over a 10 year period.

In 2006, the Netherlands transformed its health care system to increase coverage through a public-private partnership.  While the pre-2006 Dutch system reflected the current U.S. model, the success of the current Dutch system marks a potential model for health reform in the U.S.  This abstract is drawn from a brief by Niek Klazinga, a Professor of Social Medicine at the University of Amsterdam.

In a lecture to the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank, Senator Mike Enzi set a broad conservative agenda for healthcare reform.  He recognizes that the increasing costs and sinking quality of healthcare necessitate 'comprehensive reform.'  While Enzi's principles are not revolutionary, they succinctly capture the Republican position in the upcoming debate over the future of US healthcare.

In a joint appearance with Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a targeted change to teacher tenure in New York City public schools. It was only one component in Bloomberg’s larger campaign to transform the city’s education system.

Two former political officials -- Gov. George Allen and Paul Goldman -- have united to propose a tax reform measure that would make private investment capital more available for school improvements. In light of reports indicating that the environment in which students learn is instrumental for their success, Allen and Goldman have centered their focus on modernizing America's school buildings.

In 2003, Congress established the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program as a pilot, publicly-funded school voucher program.  Its original five-year mandate was renewed in 2008 and is likely to be renewed again in 2009.  The D.C. program has been subject to yearly evaluations by the Institute for Education Studies.  Its relative success is likely to shape the future of the debate over school choice.

In Israel today, national service is required of all citizens when they turn 18.  The majority of young Israelis serve in the military; boys serve for three years, girls for two years.  Some complete their service in civilian positions instead, and serve as volunteers.  The government provides those in service with food and lodgings on military bases if they serve on a base, or in shared apartments owned by the national service administration if they volunteer.  If they work close to home, they may live at home. They are provided with a small stipend, and may ride public transport for free if they present their national service cards.  A similar program would benefit the United States.

The Breakthrough Institute, a California think-tank, proposes that the Obama administration invest of the infrastructure for clean energy research. More specifically, Breakthrough proposes that the Obama administration devote $15 Billion to Research and Design, and officially establish National Institutes of Energy, which would center the development and deployment of clean fuels.

The Obama administration, in its attempt to promote the use of clean energy, proposes an expansion of the federal government's loan guarantee program for the construction of nuclear plants. The proposal is part of the president's annual budget, and comes on the heels of an endorsement of nuclear energy in Obama's State of the Union address.

States and environmental activists have challenged as too weak the previous EPA regulations on ground-level ozone, or smog. The Obama administration has responded to these criticisms by proposing a more stringent cap on the level of smog.The new proposal is estimated to mitigate public health issues that result from exposure to smog, and to protect ecosystems at risk due to smog concentrations.

The threat of climate change demands the efficient use of resources to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  Inexpensive policies that do not require costly technological innovation should be the starting point for addressing environmental sustainability. Current development trends and government policies tend to favor sprawling suburban areas that use land and resources inefficiently.  Suburban developments rely on the prevalence cheap fuel and automobile usage. Suburban developments encroach on pristine areas that are essential to maintaining biodiversity and carbon sinks.  The expansion of suburban sprawl has the possibility of outshining many of the gains of other policies aimed at reducing GHG emissions. High-density or smart growth developments, on the other hand, reverse the consumption of virgin land and use resources more efficiently.
 

President Obama introduced a fee on financial institutions benefitting from the bailout to be detailed in the forthcoming budget. The fee was framed in populist terms, as if the people were asking for their money back. The federal Troubled Asset Relief Program distributed $700 Billion to financial institutions to share the burden of the financial crisis. The fee is intended to recover the federal monies that the banks are not projected to return.

In a Press Conference on January 21, 2010, President Obama proposed an amendment to the financial overhaul package that has passed the House and is currently under review in the Senate. He drew on the advice of Paul Volcker, the former Chairman of the Federal Reserve, who has proposed that Congress re-separate commercial banking and investment banking.

In 2003, Warren Buffett proposed an import certificate program to eliminate the US trade deficit. We must reduce the deficit, he argues, so that the US is not forced to sell more of its assets to “foreign holders.” As a result of Buffett’s proposal, Sens. Feingold and Dorgan introduced a Senate bill, and economists have published several studies. Advocates argue that the program would create short-term inflation in order to achieve long-term stabilization and growth.

In 1991, the United States and a new Russia agreed to the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (START), which recently expired. The Obama administration has re-engaged Russia, breathing new life into arms limitation talks. The New York Times argues that the administration should aggressively pursue new arms reductions, including the renewal of START and the ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

In a report on the state of American democracy promotion, Carothers outlines key reforms to the US Agency on International Development (USAID) that would improve the US government's capacity to promote democracy abroad. Though the report identifies a suite of flaws with USAID practices, it focuses primarily on structural reforms that would streamline aid delivery.

In an innovative and daring proposal, Glenn Hubbard advocates a corporate approach to US foreign aid reflecting the Marshall Plan model. As Congress is considering dramatic reform to the institutional channels through which aid is directed, this plan does not offer a new mechanism for aid as much as a new direction that trusts markets and the motive force of private commerce.

The Obama speech outlining his administration's Iraq withdrawal plan marked the culmination of the recently-inaugurated president's persistent opposition to the war.  While withdrawal will likely cost less than staying indefinitely, it is necessary to prepare our foreign policy for prolonged Iraqi instability and possible state collapse.