The panic button has been pushed by many jobless Americans and their voices are being heard at the White House. The Black Caucus on Capitol Hill is voicing their concern and frustration against the Obama administration. They, along with many middle-class Americans, are feeling the pinch of joblessness, while Wall Street and banks are enjoying their riches.

Job creation is not solely the job of any president. However, it is the president's job to set the environment of creating tax incentives for small businesses in the private sector for the purpose of facilitating the hiring of more employees. It is the state's job to come up with creative measures of keeping businesses thriving and ensuring room for other businesses that are new and innovative. The new tax reforms for corporate income/ franchise and business personal property taxes have made businesses stagnate, placing a freeze on hiring, and leveraging businesses debt high enough to leave them no choice but to file bankruptcy or go out of business. Ohio, like all states, has to review ways on how to keep in-state businesses prospering in this climate of change.

Lake Erie gives Ohio the greatest potential for generating billions of dollars in alternative energy for the entire state. Wind, solar, and hydro- power are great natural sources of energy. Where are the windmills?

The economic crisis is undergoing a dynamic change involving three conditions: contraction, correction and cleansing. Systemic change is not easy. It is a painful experience, but if the old saying “No pain, no gain” holds true, it can also be a beacon of hope. The correction of debt must be erased by a new system. The cleansing of greed and toxic assets must be controlled by reasonable policies governed by both the private and public sectors. Setting permanent safeguards of regulatory and accountability practices must be the commitment of all financial institutions. All three conditions must be met to have a transforming economy. This will not be a quick fix.

However, there has to be a relief from the pain NOW. Complaining, politicizing, and non-partisanship resolutions will not put bread and butter on the tables of millions of Americans. The government may have to stimulate jobs by giving monies to hard hit areas across this nation. In these dire times there is a rainbow in the horizon. The use of leftover TARP monies could be one relief for the unemployment crisis. Another initiative needed is for each state to execute and allocate some of its stimulus monies for job training for green jobs, infrastructure projects, and startup capital for those who want to own their businesses. Local banks need to be more transparent and become user friendly to small businesses. One idea would be to release money initiatives for small business owners and allow a greater flow of loans and lines of credit to fortify sustainability and growth.

The most recent study from the Ohio Department of Development reports that African Americans, between the ages of 25 and 64, have an employment rate of 11.5 percent while younger African Americans, between the ages of 20 and 24, have an unemployment rate of 23.6 percent. The good news is rather than waiting for government to help us, we can achieve our goals by a different direction through the venue of education. One example being used is DeZine for Success, a youth entrepreneurial after-school program designed to teach adolescents key business concepts and strategies for launching businesses. Using a multidisciplinary approach, youth are able to gain hands on experience with developing an idea, expanding on the idea, and launching a final product or business. Our youth are the greatest resource we have in this nation.