The government is facing some big challenges these days, with the Health Care initiative still in jeopardy, the economy still fragile and an epidemic like housing situation. Yet, the biggest problem facing the Administration right now is the job situation.

It should be clear by now that everything else we are facing as a nation is pegged to whether or not enough people are working. Even though the stock market is trying to shrug off mostly negative reports, the one that requires the most attention is the jobs report coming out this Friday.

You can expect the most optimistic pundits to peg any increase in unemployment to lousy weather, and while there might be something to that, it still doesn't begin to explain why there are still so many people out of work. And, to those who think the economy can grow with 10 percent of the work force sitting on the sidelines, all I can say is, good luck.

We saw from last week's Consumer Confidence report that Americans are shaken. And, we saw from yesterday's Personal Income and Spending data that incomes are down, so for the group of people who still have jobs, buying power has lessened.

So, we're not likely to advance in any meaningful way unless more people are put to work, and there is little evidence that corporate America is ready to welcome back the millions of workers who have been displaced the past few years. This is why getting people back to work must be the number one government priority, with nothing else even a close second.