The latest measures on the economy suggest we may have passed through the worst of the crisis and are on the way to recovery. At first, that won't mean more jobs - it just means jobs won't be lost as fast as they have been over that past year. It will take more time for the slide to stop before a long, slow climb toward a healthy economy begins.
This severe recession was set off by bankers who got just a bit too cute at selling paper. They pulled together housing debts they knew were shaky and sold them as solid, dependable investments. Real estate is a huge part of the economy, and when it turned out that real estate investments weren't worth as much as investors thought they were worth, everyone got hammered.
After this con job collapsed, what happened? The same people responsible for selling bad investments were bailed out with billions of dollars of taxpayer's money. Honest workers were asked to pay for the failure of deceptive get-rich-quick schemes.
Many of the jobs that disappeared will not return. Many of the jobs that do return will pay less than jobs that existed before. And many of those jobs will be honest work. We're talking active work, not desk jobs shuffling paper. Service work, productive work, the creation of things or benefits to people that have real value. The U.S. has gotten away from this for a few decades, but it's coming back.
This may be seen as a step down, that we'll be forced to "get our hands dirty" again. Truth is, trading something of real value - time and effort - in exchange for something of real value is work anyone can be proud of. Too much business practice has relied on giving as little value as possible by manipulating customers.
If you're one of the people who do "grunt" work - the kind of job that requires you to be there, using your mind and your hands, every working day - you can go home knowing you've earned your paycheck honestly. It may seem like a small thing, and it may not feel like much when you're frustrated with your job. But it really matters.
When you and millions of other people are doing work that adds value - when you're doing something useful and productive that helps other people, instead of ripping them off - you are part of a solution. You are why the economy will recover. You are why other people will be able to find jobs later. And you are doing the work the country needs to create better opportunities for everyone - including yourself.
There are many important jobs that don't get the respect they deserve - the drivers who take children safely to school every day, or deliver food and products to our stores. The people who collect the trash, the crews that maintain our roads, the cooks who prepare our food when we eat out, the plumbers, electricians and engineers who work behind the scenes to keep our society running smoothly.
These people, who quietly go to work and struggle to manage their lives on small paychecks, who shrug and smile and keep showing up, day after day, to do the things most of us barely notice - these are heroes. These are people of substance. They are the people who can make the difference between the success and failure of nations.
It's said there are Makers, Takers, and Fakers. Guess who among them sleep best at night?
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Kevin McLeod is a dual Canadian/American citizen with a diverse background in creative arts. His web development experience includes work for Gallaudet University, iXL and the Washington Post. His writing, graphic design and editorial service for the deaf press has included the GA-SK Newsletter, the NAD Broadcaster, and Silent News. He currently works as a Mental Health Technician at the National Deaf Academy in Mount Dora, FL, the world's only psychiatric treatment center designed for deaf residents.