Our country's severe jobs crisis continues.  In employment statistics, this is masked by the fact that so many Americans have given up looking for work and have stopped filing for unemployment.  But struggling un- and under-employed American families aren't fooled.

Every serious economist understands that austerity is the worst policy for an economic recovery, since it prevents spending and growth.  This has been known since it failed during our Great Depression in the 30's, and again in Japan's "lost decade".  As NY Times' Nobel economist Paul Krugman pointed out earlier this month, the US would have millions more jobs if the federal government wasn't trying to shrink its spending.  

This is a time for our federal government to help America recover, grow, and invest, the way Roosevelt's WPA helped America escape the depression while providing jobs, improving our infrastructure, and making sure our education system is world class.

Right now we're doing the opposite -- firing teachers and government workers as if the Republican mantra "shrink the government" was a sensible policy -- and insanely, as if firing people creates jobs instead of unemployment.  As Krugman points out, even Ronald Reagan didn't believe such ridiculous propaganda, and his recovery was faster than ours today.

Waste is the enemy -- not the government.  Once we stop wasting trillions on reckless wars and secret 7 trillion dollar bank bailouts, there will be plenty of resources to invest in America -- to employ construction workers in much-needed renewable energy infrastructure, as well as schools and teachers, to get our economy and our future on track.