I am interested in people's views on what should be the government's role in dealing with unemployment. Having been in Europe for so long, I am losing touch with the American approach to the subject and would like to see how attitudes have changed from 25 or 30 years ago, when I was more familiar with what is going on in the States as far as unemployment is concerned. I am wondering about several aspects of the issue, and would appreciate people's input. This is not only about what is being done; it is also very much about what people think ought to be done. Thanks for your ideas. Here are my questions:

1) Should the government provide some kind of unemployment compensation program? Or could this be done better in the private sector? Is it necessary for there to even be such a program? If it exists, what conditions should you have to meet in order to qualify for benefits (in terms of previous employment experience, how long you have been unemployed, whether you have turned down employment offers, and so on)? How much income should such programs provide? Do you feel they are a disincentive to employment?

2) What about job security? How hard (or easy) should it be for an employer to let a worker go? Should an employer be able to terminate an employment contract simply because he no longer wishes to employ the person, without having to give a particular reason, in the same way the job can be terminated by the employee simply because he no longer wishes to be employed there? Or should it be harder for an employer to terminate an employment contract than for an employee? Should there be laws about this, or should it merely be a clause in the contract that is negotiated at the time of hiring?

3) Also, what is the government's role in the creation of jobs in the first place? Should it have any role? Is it the government's place to actually create the jobs? Is it the government's place simply to create a favorable economic setting so that employers will create jobs? If so, what is involved in that favorable economic setting?

4) Finally, do you see unemployment as a major problem right now where you live? What about the prospect for the next five years? How about the next twenty years?