By Denise Gabbard

If you look at our country’s history, you will only find one other period as economically miserable as our current times.  However, in those tough economic times, our leaders were wise enough to put job creation at the forefront to ensure a recovery and stimulate future growth.

A large, concentrated, bipartisan effort is needed by both the House and the Senate to put forth an aggressive incentive program aimed at creating jobs. Federal tax incentives can be utilized to bring about the changes desired; for instance, we could reward small businesses for hiring someone who has been out of work a long time, and further reward them if they will pay a good wage (one that is at least 20-30% about minimum wage.) There is already a bill (S.3816) being argued that will incentivize companies that hire Americans to replace overseas workers, and will penalize them for moving portions of their business offshore. This is a long overdue piece of legislation, and the lack of this type of law has cost the country millions of jobs. Surely, some of those nice folks in Washington see the connection.

Small businesses and entrepreneurs are trying very hard to expand and start new businesses, and giving them these types of incentives can make a world of difference, as they offset a major portion of the risk the companies have in hiring right now.  The government has been criticized for throwing money at other problems, but this area can actually put people back to work, increase their self-confidence, and pump up the economy.  No other project seems more worthwhile than job creation in turning this economy around.

If you are without a job in this economy, what can you do to make ends meet?  » Read more: State of the Market: Job Creation Ideas