"Unemployment is a bigger deal than Afghanistan"

With one huge difference: There are known, proven, ready-to-go solutions to unemployment ready to hand, if only President Obama and Congressional Democrats will pick them up.

John Nichols in The Nation:

But if unemployment keeps rising -- if it gets to 12-, 13-, 14-percent officially, and over 20 percent unofficially -- it will be the only issue for the great masses of Americans who will tip the country's political balance in a direction that either empowers or disempowers the Obama administration when it comes to addressing fundamental social, environmental and foreign policy concerns.

In other words: It's still the economy, stupid.

So what should we hope for from the jobs summit?

Something real, not tinkering around the edges, and not a reprise of the tepid stimulus initiative that spent more on tax cuts for well-to-do Americans than it did for actual job creation.

The intervention must be dramatic, primarily because of the social concern and economic concerns. There is a mounting sense of hopelessness in many regions of the country and it is grounded in a reality that is too infrequently noted: Since the current recession began in December, 2007, the United States has lost more than eight million jobs. This country has experienced 22 consecutive months of job losses, which the AFL-CIO correctly identifies as "the longest such losing streak in 70 years."

There are a lot of plans out there, some warmed over versions of approaches that have failed in the past (more tax cuts for the rich), some visionary proposals that ask us to imagine the possibilities of a transformational 21st century (groundbreaking green jobs initiatives).

The AFL-CIO has developed a smart proposal that focuses squarely on job creation and retention -- the interventions that get to the heart of the matter -- as well as needed steps to aid those who are now out of work.

Read the whole thing.