Unemployment is not going away. It might not be going up, either (at least at the moment), but it's not going away. Panicked politicians are under pressure to "do something." So let me get this straight. It's up to government to create more jobs and quickly. Government can only create jobs with other people's money. The money taken from the people who would otherwise be spending or doing creative and productive things will instead be spent by the government. Now let's assume that government is every bit as creative and productive as the private sector. (All who believe this, raise your hands.) Even if this is so, isn't government merely creating jobs and wealth that already existed?

The problem is this: The purpose of government, when it comes to economics, is to "spread the wealth around" -- not to create wealth. Government creates nothing and contributes nothing, other than preserving the peace (which it doesn't do any longer, as we can see from the recent rise in terrorist threats). Spreading the wealth is not creating wealth. If you want unemployment to go down, then productivity and wealth creation must go up. You cannot have capital without capitalism. Unless your goal is to destroy wealth, destroy productivity and create a rise in unemployment -- America must abandon socialism and embrace capitalism. It's one or the other. Make up your mind America!