WASHINGTON — Have an idea on how to preserve the American dream? It could be worth $100,000.

A contest sponsored by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is looking for ideas that will help the economy grow, encourage companies to expand and create well-paying jobs. The winning idea will be worth $100,000 and two runners-up will claim a second prize of $50,000 each. The winners will be announced Feb. 1.

The country needs new ideas for how to strengthen its economy and compete in the fast-changing international marketplace, said SEIU President Andrew Stern. He thinks ordinary Americans are the best people to ask for those ideas.

"In Washington, D.C., we are still living in the last century in an industrial revolution," Stern said. "India and China are in overdrive and America is in neutral."

The contest entries should outline, in 175 words or less, a problem or issue, how it should be fixed, and how fixing it will benefit working men and women. A bipartisan panel of 24 judges includes economists, chief executives and interest-group leaders.