Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) unveiled her “innovation plan” to a large group of Silicon Valley executives Thursday. Among her bullet points:

A $50 billion energy research agency, responsible for reducing energy dependence and global warming.

More research funding for the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health.

Increases in the number of foreign-born high-tech worker (H-1B) visas.

Tax incentives for broadband deployment in underserved areas.

New technology renewable energy.

On paper at least, it sounds good. Look for more of this as the presidential candidates seek Californians’ votes — and their checkbooks.

P.S. In response to a few inquiries, this is not an endorsement of Clinton. The point I’m making is that we should be looking at the candidates’ proposals and making assessments of their merit. My belief is that energy is the critical issue facing America today, and by focusing Americans’ attention on coming up with an all-encompassing solution, we might also renew broad and intense interest in engineering and other sciences, much in the way President Kennedy did with the Moon mission in the 1960s.