Most Jobs Lost Since World War II

This is not surprising over the last months; America is in a deep recession. One that is competing with the scars of the Great Depression. The consequences of this recession are just as harsh as they were the last time we had this large of a deficit. Over 8.4 million jobs have been lost, over 20 million homes remain empty and there are more people out on the streets than ever before. Right now, most people, especially middle class, are being frugal with their money, but since the last time we were in a recession the key was to spend spend spend, why will that not work now? Are we too far in over our heads, is there any way our country will fully recover from this devastating blow? One of my greatest questions is asking, "What is the government doing about this?", but my second question, equal in importance, is "What can the people of America do about this?". Is it possible that we can take on the role of the leader and start to save our country group by group? If we feel like the government is not doing enough, nevertheless how much they are actually doing, can we, the people, take control of our country and fix our own mistakes? Ads are always asking about what you can do to save the planet and how we can help to save energy, help haiti etc. But what if we had more ads that pushed saving our economy, and by extension, saving lives?