David Sandahl, former deputy mayor, Hopewell Township
I hope the Hopewell Township Committee will act quickly to carry out the proposal by Township Committee Member David Dafilou to conduct a small business creation forum.
From 2001 to 2007, 40 percent of the new jobs were related to the real estate bubble — services such as home building, home finance, home improvement, and even the exotic financial instruments that built on mortgage-backed securities. Since the bubble burst, over 500 banks and mortgage companies have closed their doors and construction has dropped to a fraction of its former level, as has much of the economic activity related to the bubble.
Since many of the lost jobs will never return, a sustainable economic recovery will depend on new enterprises, particularly growth of the small businesses that are the primary drivers of employment. The “Great Recession” may have bottomed out, but until American innovators and investors work together to reignite growth, we will face high unemployment and a weak economy for a long time to come.
