What will it take to put 14.9 million jobless back to work?

When you consider that 70 percent of U.S. economic growth stems from consumers, it becomes obvious that there is no hope of a true economic recovery until companies create more jobs than they destroy. That's because people without jobs can't borrow money to make up for their lack of income and they can't spend more of what they don't have. And until those worker are able to increase their spending, economic growth stagnates.

That's why news that 14.9 million jobless are seeking work is the most important piece of economic data. The biggest unanswered question is who to put those people back to work. Is government the answer? Or will free markets do the trick? With the right boost from government, natural economic forces will bring back the jobs.