There is a crisis in this country and it is one that Washington seems ill-equipped to handle. It is a crisis of certainty and confidence. Well, this isn’t news to most Americans, but it certainly does seem like Washington hasn’t heard.

During these difficult economic times there have been many voices, clamoring for attention, shouting out ideas that they believe will jumpstart the economy. What’s been particularly concerning is that the voice of the small business owner, the entrepreneur or even the job creator has not been heard. The only voices at the table seem to be big businesses from Wall Street, or professors from ivory towers who have never created a single job.

The reality is that the small business is the engine of the American economy. Small businesses have created more than 60 percent of all new jobs in the past 15 years. Therefore, it stands to reason that any real solution to the jobs crisis in this country will need to empower small businesses to do what they do best. In fact, the vast majority of Americans believe that for jobs – the most important problem facing the nation – small business owners and local business leaders are best equipped to get the economy moving again, according to a recent Gallup poll.

This doesn’t mean that government has no role – it just means that government cannot engineer an economic recovery from Washington. What it can do is increase incentives for business leaders to invest in human capital, or encourage entrepreneurs by giving them certainty about what the tax rates will be moving forward, or stop the steady flow of burdensome regulations from weighing down small businesses on Main Street.

In short, it seems Washington needs to spend less time looking to score political points against the opposing party, and more time listening to the job creators who are struggling to stay afloat economically. Giving a voice to the entrepreneurs and small business owners is precisely what the American Institute for Growth is all about. We exist to communicate, educate and advocate for the free enterprise system – which has made America into the most prosperous country in the history of the world.

At JCA, we will use modern technology, creativity, and the relationships we have built throughout our careers to connect like-minded Americans together and make their voices heard, so that our policymakers might draw from the same well of optimism. AIFG knows the 21st century can continue to be an American one—but only if business and government get back to complementing each other.