Nearly three years into Barack Obama's presidency, major solutions to the jobs crisis appear to be in as short supply as the jobs themselves.
Do you have an idea for how to create American jobs? Tweet at @HuffPostBiz with the hashtag #CreateJobs. We'll compile the best.
Yet for many Americans, getting the job market back in gear has been a top concern for some time. Indeed, with the unemployment rate stuck above 9 percent and the labor market unable to pick up steam, Obama's major jobs speech could not come soon enough.
Murmors of what exactly will be on the table vary, but possibly could include tax cuts for the middle-class, major infrastructure projects and a particular emphasis on dealing with the issue of long-term unemployment. One thing's for certain: Any boost to the job market would help the president's re-election chances.
So what to do? Those from the left, right and center have all proposed ideas for creating jobs. In June, for example, former President Bill Clinton, who enjoyed a strong record on jobs during his presidency, outlined 14 initiatives in Newsweek magazine. Clinton himself put particular focus on the growing sustainable energy sector.
Others say the scope of Obama's jobs plan will have to be huge in order to rouse Republicans out of their current resistance to Obama-led intitiatives. The Washington Post's Eugene Robinson, for one, said that Obama's plan should be "unimaginable," while The New Republic's Jonathan Cohn, emphasized big, thought-out and easily-implemented moves. In all, 67 major progressive groups urged Obama to "go big" on his jobs plan.
New ideas are still welcome. The White House says it will listen to any online proposal that can receive 5,000 signatures. According to our own Arianna Huffington, it's teamwork and dedication, like that seen in Hurricane Irene relief efforts, that might be America's best bet during this time of difficulty.
So how do you think America can work together to best solve the jobs crisis? Tweet us at @HuffPostBiz with the hashtag #CreateJobs!