Community Partnership? A Proposal.

These few weeks I have been riling my brain and trying to come out with some form of an answer on "how should we face this challenging moment?." This season has been a transition for me as a newly married, but it happens to be that I counted my self as one of the millions unemployed. Although I am not under a severe pressure in finding job (thanks to my husband), but the feeling of being unemployed has affected me in a term such as inactivity, out of focus, irregularity, and lack of motivation. This season has taught me one good lesson of what it means the importance of "work" which contributes the sense of stability, dignity, security, focus, motivation, and purpose. Most of all, I know what it means of not having one, and the frustration to find one in the midst of bleak employment prospect. With the numbers of unemployment expected to be rising to double digit, and more business will face closure and bankruptcy; these facts are a harsh reminder it could happen to anyone. This morning I read an article from Newsweek magazine with the title "Is double digit unemployment is here to stay?" (http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1921439,00.html?iid=tsmodule) after reading this article I asked to myself "There must be something that we can do?" "What happens with the term "entrepreneurs" which have been used loosely in the 90s?" "Is it because we have been beaten, and cheated, and we went broke that's why this spirit that driven the economy of the 90s has lost its meaning?" I believe this will be the era that we need real and courageous entrepreneurs, without it we will bend toward what Larry Summers described as "Hyteresis" which means too late, when the economy or an industry reach the breaking point there is no way to restore it. I have no intention writing this note as a mean to coup with my frustration, discouragement, or any prediction that US economy will go bankrupt; I still believe this is not the end of everything, but it is a beginning of something. Outside of politics, we should realize that there is something needs to be done and it should come from all of us, as a community. We, the community, should play "a role" in determining the survival and the rebirth of this decade. Community Partnership, I believe is not a new word and is not a new idea, but it is an idea that needs to be reinvigorated and re-ignite. It is not a social club, but it is a group of community members with a purpose to jump start this weakened economy which will be related to your skills, talents, experiences, and professions. When there have been hundreds of car mechanics laid off in a town whose main economy drives was GM, and Chrysler; we should asked to ourselves what these hundreds of mechanic in our community should do? should they just wait until other car company open and rehire them? or should they start something out of nothing with their own ingenuity? (such as be an on-call/mobile car repairer?) When there are so many restaurants closed their doors and shed hundreds of waiters' jobs; what should we do? how about if we as community come up with fresh idea such as community restaurants that will reinvigorate this city and attract local tourism. Yes indeed we are lacking of money, but yet we still have the essential capital we ever need such as our ingenuity, resilience, and most of all community. As I research in this unemployment season, I ask for help, please give any input, idea, opinion, and beyond that we need "the right connections" to work together for the cause of this decade.