It's already too late for millions of Americans who have lost their jobs

In a recent column, Bob Herbert, a New York Times writer, portrays what I and others have been saying for many months. Average Americans are facing economic devastation that policymakers have yet to fully grasp. Millions of people who were firmly entrenched in the middle class now find their savings gone and futures looking more dismal by the day. Even if they return to work, it's unlikely many will be able to recover to the point where they can avoid living on the streets in old age. The damage has already been done and returning to work is becoming a near impossibility as employers continue to sit on profits.

This is a national emergency on a scale that we've never seen because there is no light at the end of this tunnel, no confidence that government and business will unite to pull us out of this. Quite the contrary. Sadly, we are approaching these problems like we have in the past, not realizing the uniquely catastrophic circumstances of this particular recession that has targeted the middle class while those on the top have quickly recovered via bailouts and other perks or privilege. America will soon be the ultimate have and have-not country.

With the exception of commentators like Herbert, the news media doesn't seem to understand the depth of the emergency. Elected officials are using the collapse of the middle class to score political points instead of finding solutions. With each savings account that is drained goes the hopes of many Americans. Hundreds of thousands are already struggling to simply clothed and feed themselves. These are people who three years ago had homes, nest eggs and college accounts for their kids. They are victims of what was probably an overzealous reaction by many employers to cut payroll to the bone. Meanwhile, the media barely scratches the surface of the most profound story since World War II.

Some who were in the middle class are losing the will to go on. This class of people did everything right, or so they thought. They educated themselves. Worked hard. And now they can't pay the electric bill. That changes people, particularly people who once prided themselves on being self-reliant. It changes the fabric of a society. We can fund wars but we can't pay to create jobs? We can export entire professions and grant millions of work visas, but can't provide employment for our middle class? It's tragic.

This recession is a silent killer. But it's only silent because people in power have their hands over their ears. In fact, the term "recession" doesn't quite explain the depth or complexities of what is really happening at the core of our society, in the smallest towns and biggest cities.

It appears survival of the fittest is the new American norm. Those who have jobs are choosing to not think about those without paychecks. Those in a position to hire aren't doing so in order to fortify their security. People in government make job-creation policies that have no teeth so that they can survive another election season without making too many waves. The millions of people impacted the most by the economic collapse will perish soon enough, long before their time, leaving the country to those who protected their riches and turned their backs on former colleagues, neighbors and friends who weren't quite as fortunate.

Read the Herbert column.