[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/10/08/art.debate2.both2.jpg]Van Jones
President, Green For All

With our economic crises mounting, Americans are desperate for some bold, comprehensive and holistic solutions. Will either candidate propose them?

Here are three questions that I hope both candidates are asked.

1. Would you support or oppose a multibillion-dollar "green economic stimulus" package?

We have bailed out the banks and – one hopes – avoided a financial meltdown. But we are still in a recession. We need a stimulus – and sending people checks to go shop for a day is not going to cut it this time.

To make matters worse, high fuel prices are making people even more desperate. Winter heating bills are about to go through the roof. At least both presidential candidates now admit that we are in a real recession (not a psychological one). But what will either of them do about it?

The smart move would be to pump dollars into the economy to the nation's infrastructure – putting people to work repairing our energy grid, fast-tracking solar energy projects, jump starting wind energy projects, weatherizing and retrofitting homes and buildings. Such a program would have the added benefit of preparing millions of homes for the harsh winter, reducing energy prices, cutting carbon emissions, improving air quality and curbing our oil dependence. Even in tough financial times, a smart investment like that would be foolish to pass up.

A report by the Center for American Progress and economists from the University of Massachusetts’ Political Economy Research Institute is promising. It demonstrates how a new Green Recovery program that spends $100 billion over two years would create two million new jobs.

FULL POST