Education
I believe that education is the cornerstone of success and living the American Dream. Education is what will advance us in the 21st century. We must be educated to stay competitive on the world stage. From science and technology, to practical problem solving skills and everything in between including manufacturing, business, and national security requires the finest educational system in the world to keep us on top. If we are to be at the forefront of these areas and spearhead world research we must vastly invest in our future. Education is the key to the future.
American Correctional System
The American correctional system has failed us. We put individuals into prison for minor offenses where they learn to become hardened criminals. There are the colleges of things like math science and literature, and the colleges of gang-banging, drugs and violence. In January 2012 vera.org had a piece where it put a 28000 annual cost on each inmate in Michigan. (Source http://www.vera.org/files/price-of-prisons-michigan-fact-sheet.pdf). How many college classes could 28,000 a year buy? The facts are that those who are educated are less likely to act outside of the scope of the law. If we were to put this money into actual rehabilitation instead of caging individuals like animals we would have a much larger impact on society.
Unions
Unions are the backbone of the American economic prosperity of the mid 20th century and we need to get back to that level of prosperity. Unions are the reason we have a minimum wage. Unions are the reason we have a 40 hour work week. Unions are the reason we have sick pay. Unions are the reason we have vacation time. Unions are the reason we have child labor laws. Unions protect workers from being taken advantage of by their employers. Without unions we would not have the ability to negotiate with employers without fearing termination. Unions help us combat discrimination.
Energy
It is as simple as this. Things that are renewable do not run out. Things that are not renewable run out. Time for each and every one of us, eventually runs out. The capacity of the United States to run on nonrenewable energy sources, will in due time run out. However, we will not run out of solar power. The sun was bright billions of years before you, as it will be billions of years after you. We will not run out of hydroelectric power, water is recyclable. We will not run out of wind power. However we cannot shut down all of our nonrenewable and dirty energy plants. It wouldn't be feasible and would cost jobs that are vital to the economy. We can replace them with clean, renewable sources as they expire and need to be rebuilt. This plan will get us onto completely clean, renewable energy in the century without a fight in congress, and without costing jobs. At this point it comes down to common sense.