Bleak outlook on jobs; U.S. on wrong track

BLS released its March jobs report this morning -- employers cut 80,000 jobs in March, the most in 5 years and the third straight month of losses (as reported by the Washington Post). The unemployment rate is now 5.1 percent - the highest since September 2005.

The latest NY Times/CBS News poll finds that nearly three in 10 Americans say they are very concerned that they or someone in their household might lose their job in the next 12 months. Most of those polled say the country’s best years of good, available jobs are behind us. And 81 percent say the country is on the wrong track. (See David Leonhardt and Marjorie Connelly's NY Times article today.)

Yikes. We need a game plan. Clinton? Obama? McCain? This is your moment to to think big about the economy, where we're been, where we're headed. This plan has to go beyond a housing bailout and fiscal stimuli. How about addressing high health care and energy costs; making needed investments in infrastructure, human capital, and R&D?