--- description: MakerSpace in school libraries, improving US ambassadors, making policy with real data, reforming the tax-code for the rest of us, and more. title: These Are Today's Best Ideas image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Innovation](/tag/innovation/) ## Innovation Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Five Best Ideas of the Day: December 4 by [The Aspen Institute](/author/the-aspen-institute/) ## The Aspen Institute Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 4, 2014 5:01 PM CUT by [The Aspen Institute](/author/the-aspen-institute/) ## The Aspen Institute Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 4, 2014 5:01 PM CUT **1\.** [**Reimagine your school library as a makerspace.**](https://www.edsurge.com/n/2014-11-26-3d-printing-to-raspberry-pi-s-how-a-quiet-florida-school-library-got-transformed-by-a-makerspace "undefined") By Susan Bearden in EdSurge **2\.** [**New materials could radically change air conditioning.**](http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21634992-new-materials-may-change-way-temperatures-are-regulated-cool-idea "undefined") By The Economist **3\.** [**Ambassadorships are too important to hand out to political donors.**](http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2014/12/03/memo%5Fto%5Fobama%5Fhanding%5Fembassy%5Fjobs%5Fto%5Fbig%5Fdonors%5Fcan%5Fbe%5Fdangerous%5Fambassador%5Fnominees "undefined") By Justine Drennan in Foreign Policy **4\.** [**There’s a better way: Using data and evidence — not politics — to make policy.**](http://blog.metrotrends.org/2014/12/bipartisan-call-evidence-inform-policy/ "undefined") By Margery Turner at the Urban Institute **5\.** [**The tax-code works for the rich. Low-income households need reforms that make deductions into credits and stimulate savings.**](http://www.policylink.org/blog/building-an-equitable-tax-code "undefined") By Lewis Brown Jr. and Heather McCulloch in PolicyLink  [_The Aspen Institute_](http://www.aspeninstitute.org/ "undefined") _is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3617943/five-best-ideas-of-the-day-december-4/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3617943/five-best-ideas-of-the-day-december-4/"},"headline":"Five Best Ideas of the Day: December 4","datePublished":"2014-12-04T17:01:04.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:06:49.387Z","description":"MakerSpace in school libraries, improving US ambassadors, making policy with real data, reforming the tax-code for the rest of us, and more.","url":"https://time.com/3617943/five-best-ideas-of-the-day-december-4/","keywords":["Innovation","Foreign Policy","Space","climate change","School","Obama","low-income","U.S.","Inequality","Tax","Electricity","3D printing","Tax Reform","Argentina","Internal Revenue Service","Library","ambassador","international relations","Hungary"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"The Aspen Institute","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/the-aspen-institute/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/innovation/","name":"Innovation"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3617943/five-best-ideas-of-the-day-december-4/","name":"Five Best Ideas of the Day: December 4"}}]}] ```