Uncle Albert, who hadn't read Animal Farm, always wanted us to know that money was not the important thing. After all, he shrewdly pointed out, money can't buy poverty. Meanwhile Aunty Gladys regularly reminded us that it was just as easy to fall in love with a rich person as a poor one. Alas for them, they ended up marrying each other.

The job market in its worst state since the Great Depression and is putting tremendous strain on millions of Americans. Without action from Washington, D.C., the unemployment rate will remain elevated for years to come, and almost certainly above 9 percent through the end of 2010. Public esteem for economic policymakers isn’t doing so hot either. There are several simple steps that President Barack Obama and Congress could take to create jobs, but of late, neither have shown much interest in doing so.

Jobs matter