Given the United States’ rich history of immigration and the current hotbed issues surrounding it, this is a small concession that could have profound implications for the future of our nation and economy. Logistics aside – how to define a start-up and what to do if a fledging company fails etc. – this would be an extremely effective means of injecting innovation at the foundations of our country.

As Paul Graham notes in his original treatise, “Letting just 10,000 startup founders into the country each year could have a visible effect on the economy. If we assume 4 people per startup, which is probably an overestimate, that’s 2500 new companies. Each year. They wouldn’t all grow as big as Google, but out of 2500 some would come close.”

Given that these individuals would be building new businesses, they wouldn’t be taking jobs away from Americans, and in all likelihood would be creating more opportunities and industries. Programs that encourage and incentivize the entrepreneurial spirit within our borders are exactly the kind of forward-thinking pathways to progress that we should be pushing for.

[image via nromagna]

As BusinessWeek notes, “the money can’t come soon enough for the home appliance industry, which is mired in an unprecedented sales slump that began when the housing market cooled in 2006. Since then that slump has worsened considerably. Shipments of washers, dryers, refrigerators, and ovens dropped 10% in 2008 and are down 15% through July.”

While this program might be following a similar formula to CARS, it’s hard to imagine it having as big an impact. State money to encourage consumers to make the switch has been around for years without much success. These federal funds are merely piggybacking onto those existing vouchers so it’s unclear whether this added money will be enough to really influence shoppers to change, despite the cost-saving benefits.

While I applaud the government for attempting to bolster the economy with the long term health of the environment as an additional plus, the benefits of these programs are only short-lived at best. I understand that the country wants to see progress and this does achieve immediate results, but it seems this money could be better spent in ways that promote job creation in emerging industries that can sustain long term growth.

[image via ingorrr]

Women are widely thought of as second class citizens in many countries and as a result of this kind of thinking, they represent one of our most precious and untapped resources for innovation and positive change. For this very reason and to maintain the status quo, they’re often denied educations.

In the United States, it’s easy to take for granted the ease with which women (and men) can access an education. Abroad, the mission of educating women requires more funding for schools, teachers, and books. I believe that equality of education is one of the most vital ways to move the world forward as we look ahead to the next 100 years and attempt to find solutions to the problems of the modern age.

[image via Shazron]

This week’s report on unemployment by the Labor Department gave some evidence that supports the theory of a budding recovery. The figures showed a drop in the rate of unemployment, from 9.5% in June to 9.4% in July. However, the picture of the job market in the U.S. is still relatively grim; 247,00o jobs lost during a time of economic prosperity would probably be viewed as catastrophic. Also included in the report was a revision to June’s job loss numbers, which spiked after a better-that-expected May. June’s job loss numbers were scaled back from 467,000 to 443,000.

The length of the work week also ticked up slightly in July, “a sign that businesses were not scaling back hours to cut their payroll costs” according to an article in the New York Times.

Quickly putting a sunny spin on the numbers, which declined largely because almost 400,000 people abandoned their search for work and exited the job market, the Obama administration has cited the figures as proof that the $787 billion stimulus package has begun to take effect. Furthermore, the prevailing sentiment of it could have been worse has been pushed further into the forefront. Although optimism has accompanied the new job numbers – as well as the stock indexes – experts still are forecasting an unemployment rate of over 10% before a noticeable change in new hires occurs.

The GDP might begin to see growth at the end of this quarter after an encouraging drop of only 1% over the last quarter. The Economist predicted today that “GDP will probably rise in the current quarter by as much as 3%.” Furthermore, “in July, manufacturers reported that new orders were growing briskly, the best in over two years, and car sales jumped by 15% to an annualised 11.2 million.” The Obama Administration will likely take some credit for that rise in sales due to the success of the Cash for Clunkers program (also known as CARS) which just received an extension of funding to the tune of $2 billion.

While the recession is certainly far from over, optimism has begun to take hold. Presumably, consumer confidence will follow, as long as new jobs are being created. Regardless of the speed of recovery, it is becoming clear that stimulus measures are beginning to show returns, putting the US economy ahead of the pack in the global race to regain growth in all sectors.

Having taken many lessons from last year’s presidential campaign, the administration will be using the internet to debunk many of the tactics being undertaken to bring down the healthcare initiative, including circulated chain mails with falsehoods over the details of the plan, whisper campaigns on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, and addressing web ads sponsored by right wing groups looking to throw a wrench into the process. The Republican minority has attempted to provide disinformation to the public, the Obama administration said.

According to Politico, the accusations on the table are clear: “conservatives have charged that Obama’s healthcare proposal would promote euthanasia, encourage federal funding of abortions, end private insurance and force every American into a public insurance plan. The White House and Democratic congressional leaders dispute each charge.”

Press secretary Robert Gibbs has been the most prominent face of the PR offensive so far, speaking out against Rick Scott, founder of Conservatives for Patients’ Rights, who reportedly took credit for town halls in which crowds became rowdy, booing and shouting down answers to valid questions. David Axelrod and Linda Douglass, two of Obama’s closest advisers, have also found themselves on the front line.

With every week that passes, reaching common ground on this issue only becomes more difficult. Though it would be preferable to see progress being made on healthcare reform, bringing the public squarely into the debate with with all of the facts is essential, not only to push the matter forward, but to maintain the level of transparency that we were promised. If spearheading an offensive against this campaign of disinformation will achieve this, then it the proper course of action to take.