In a once-grim apartment complex outside Memphis, Tenn., 95 percent of the people stayed put and signed a lease agreement as part of a community-wide change effort. They've seen an 80 percent overall decline in crime.
Here's hoping that 2012 will be the year when we stop abandoning schools and people as "failures" and begin reconnecting communities to build long-term educational, social and economic success.
The nation's current crisis mirrors the situation 36 years ago when New York City teetered near financial collapse, unable to borrow from a banking community that correctly believed the city was broke.
The idea of shared sacrifice as a public value is fine. However, why should many Americans, who have become accustomed to shouldering most of the sacrifice, get excited about taking on additional burdens?
The Clean Energy Bank is essential to deliver on President Obama's mandate to "make sure that we are investing in what's required for long term growth."
The first question our politicians have to realize when reforming health care is: who will pay for the millions that cannot afford medical care and treatment today? The answer: Uncle Sam.