A Clear Path Forward on Jobs

Make no mistake about it, our economic meltdown was no accident: it was arson. Over the past decade, we saw productivity rise, but workers' wages stayed flat. We watched the housing bubble burst, and hardworking families lost their homes. We bailed out the banks, but men and women who get up each day thinking about how they are going to make a better life for their families are still losing their jobs and their belief in the American Dream. Our country lost its way.

Today, our President outlined a clear path forward.

The President's Jobs Summit signaled help is on the way for women and men all around this country worried about their jobs, their families and their future. Leaders from government, business, labor and civil society met to weigh ideas old and new in spirited breakout sessions that tackled some of the most complicated challenges before our nation.

But what was most striking about about the Jobs Summit was our President's remarkable and reassuring command of the issues facing this nation.

President Obama's awareness of the breadth, depth and complexity of the choices facing this country can be described as nothing short of impressive. From weighing the options of long term investment versus short term stimulus to assessing the merits of structural deficits compared to short term job creation, his thoughtful analysis made one thing abundently clear: President Obama is the right leader for this moment of unprecedented challenges.

We have a chance now to build a 21st century economy that rewards work and makes sure that our kids will do as well as their parents did. The President's leadership on job creation is critical, and we will now see whether our Congress and the President's economic team can translate his wisdom into a real American economic plan.

We all have much work ahead to get America back on track, but today was a reminder that leadership matters.