(iStockphoto)
At the end of this month the Great Recession will officially be two years old. This will be the longest economic crisis in the United States since the Great Depression and the longest American recession since Chester Arthur was president. That 1882-1885 recession was sparked when the railroad boom bubble popped, wiping-out thousands of construction jobs. Sound somewhat familiar?
Of course, all recessions result in job losses. What's helped the American economy recover quickly in the past are innovations that have created new employment to replace the jobs lost during the downturn. One recent example is the employment opportunity created by the explosion in internet-related businesses that followed the 1990-1991 recession.
Unfortunately, there does not seem to be a giant job engine quickly emerging to help the 26.9 million Americans out of work or in part-time jobs find good paying jobs that create prosperity. This is the hand the Obama Administration has been dealt as it approaches its first full year in the White House.
President Obama's new plan to push left over money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program to small business and infrastructure construction is designed to bring the unemployment rate down from 10 percent. The administration's proposal includes tax cuts for small business and tax credits to firms that do hire.
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Proponents of the plan are quick to point out that small businesses create about 2 out of 3 new jobs in America. Small businesses are also usually better at innovation. Somewhere there's a grad student and some buddies creating the next Microsoft. The Administration hopes these moves will help such a start-up bloom quickly.
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