Help Small Businesses Hire Again (The New York Times)

The Great Recession is over. The solid 3.5 percent gain in gross domestic product during the third quarter proves that the longest, broadest and most severe American downturn since the 1930s has finally given way to recovery. It is no accident that the recession ended just as Washington’s fiscal stimulus program began providing its maximum impetus to the economy. If the financial crisis had been allowed to continue unchecked by aggressive government action, we would not yet have reached a turning point.