We're reading about it every day now: In neighborhoods across America, families are being forced to abandon homes as their mortgages jump higher than they can bear. Others watch in disbelief as their home values drop. And now the mortgage crisis has spilled into the overall economy, with stock prices hemorrhaging. In January, our economy shed jobs for the first time in four years. With working families still trying to recover from the last recession, it's increasingly likely another serious recession is on its way.

But let's not forget that the economy was not working for working people long before there was a mortgage crisis, housing crisis or stock market crisis. These crises, in fact, are a direct result of failures in our financial system and deep imbalances that already existed in our economy - propelled by the policies of the Bush administration.

Contrary to President Bush's statement that "The fundamentals [of the economy] are strong," our economy has deep structural problems. A much-needed short-term economic stimulus package appears on its way, but it doesn't do nearly enough to help those who need immediate help the most, and will serve as little more than a band-aid unless it addresses the root problems in our economy.

Nobody knows this better than working families. A decisive 72 percent of Americans do not think the economy is working, according to a recent poll by Gallup. It's no surprise the voters in West Virginia identify the economy as a top concern this election year.

For the first time ever, working people are not back to where they were before the last recession, even as a new one may be beginning. Families are bringing in a thousand dollars less in real income than in 2000. We've watched inequality rise, ironically, along with productivity.

The number of people filing for bankruptcy has jumped 68 percent since 2000, and we've lost more than 3 million manufacturing jobs over the same period. In West Virginia alone, we've lost 15,000 manufacturing jobs since 2001. The promise of so-called free trade was that information jobs would replace manufacturing jobs. But instead of adding new jobs, we've lost 16 percent of information jobs since 2000.

Meanwhile, 47 million Americans have no health coverage, including 245,000 in West Virginia - and the rest of us struggle to pay for insurance that may not even cover us when we need it.

Yet on the other side of the economic fence, CEOs have no reason to worry about their homes, or their second, third and fourth homes. CEOs make almost 400 times as much as an average worker. In December, officers at the top five financial institutions got their end-of-the-year bonuses - an eye-popping $38 billion. And that's just the bonus!

The rest of the uber-rich are also doing well. Since 1973 the incomes of the top 0.1 percent - families earning $1.3 million a year - increased 353 percent.

It's time to create an economy that works for all. We should focus on creating good jobs and solutions to the problems Americans face every day. We must invest in rebuilding structurally unsound infrastructure; 70 percent of our nation's traffic moves across dangerous bridges. Our schools are crumbling. And we need to invest in energy-efficient solutions.

It's time for balanced trade policies, a real health-care system, retirement policies that deal with today's realities, genuine financial regulatory reform and meaningful labor law reform that restores the freedom of working people to bargain for a better life. A union card is the single best middle-class supporting program our nation has to offer. Congress should pass the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill that would protect the rights of the 60 million people in our country who say they would join a union today if they had a fair chance, without employer intimidation.

And yes, we need more economic stimulus in the short term, including fiscal relief to struggling states like West Virginia - and we must take immediate steps to deal with the subprime crisis. Congress should put a moratorium on subprime mortgage foreclosures, insist on restructuring teaser-rate loans and demand transparency among the corporate sharks who created this dangerous example.

But we can't stop there. We have to restore our economy's fundamentals and make it work for all. And that means turning America in a new direction. That's why in November, working people will be working as never before to elect leaders from city councils to the White House who will put working families at the top of the agenda again.

Trumka is secretary treasurer of the AFL-CIO.

We're reading about it every day now: In neighborhoods across America, families are being forced to abandon homes as their mortgages jump higher than they can bear. Others watch in disbelief as their home values drop. And now the mortgage crisis has spilled into the overall economy, with stock prices hemorrhaging. In January, our economy shed jobs for the first time in four years. With working families still trying to recover from the last recession, it's increasingly likely another serious recession is on its way.

But let's not forget that the economy was not working for working people long before there was a mortgage crisis, housing crisis or stock market crisis. These crises, in fact, are a direct result of failures in our financial system and deep imbalances that already existed in our economy - propelled by the policies of the Bush administration.

Contrary to President Bush's statement that "The fundamentals [of the economy] are strong," our economy has deep structural problems. A much-needed short-term economic stimulus package appears on its way, but it doesn't do nearly enough to help those who need immediate help the most, and will serve as little more than a band-aid unless it addresses the root problems in our economy.

Nobody knows this better than working families. A decisive 72 percent of Americans do not think the economy is working, according to a recent poll by Gallup. It's no surprise the voters in West Virginia identify the economy as a top concern this election year.

For the first time ever, working people are not back to where they were before the last recession, even as a new one may be beginning. Families are bringing in a thousand dollars less in real income than in 2000. We've watched inequality rise, ironically, along with productivity.

The number of people filing for bankruptcy has jumped 68 percent since 2000, and we've lost more than 3 million manufacturing jobs over the same period. In West Virginia alone, we've lost 15,000 manufacturing jobs since 2001. The promise of so-called free trade was that information jobs would replace manufacturing jobs. But instead of adding new jobs, we've lost 16 percent of information jobs since 2000.

Meanwhile, 47 million Americans have no health coverage, including 245,000 in West Virginia - and the rest of us struggle to pay for insurance that may not even cover us when we need it.

Yet on the other side of the economic fence, CEOs have no reason to worry about their homes, or their second, third and fourth homes. CEOs make almost 400 times as much as an average worker. In December, officers at the top five financial institutions got their end-of-the-year bonuses - an eye-popping $38 billion. And that's just the bonus!

The rest of the uber-rich are also doing well. Since 1973 the incomes of the top 0.1 percent - families earning $1.3 million a year - increased 353 percent.

It's time to create an economy that works for all. We should focus on creating good jobs and solutions to the problems Americans face every day. We must invest in rebuilding structurally unsound infrastructure; 70 percent of our nation's traffic moves across dangerous bridges. Our schools are crumbling. And we need to invest in energy-efficient solutions.

It's time for balanced trade policies, a real health-care system, retirement policies that deal with today's realities, genuine financial regulatory reform and meaningful labor law reform that restores the freedom of working people to bargain for a better life. A union card is the single best middle-class supporting program our nation has to offer. Congress should pass the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill that would protect the rights of the 60 million people in our country who say they would join a union today if they had a fair chance, without employer intimidation.

And yes, we need more economic stimulus in the short term, including fiscal relief to struggling states like West Virginia - and we must take immediate steps to deal with the subprime crisis. Congress should put a moratorium on subprime mortgage foreclosures, insist on restructuring teaser-rate loans and demand transparency among the corporate sharks who created this dangerous example.

But we can't stop there. We have to restore our economy's fundamentals and make it work for all. And that means turning America in a new direction. That's why in November, working people will be working as never before to elect leaders from city councils to the White House who will put working families at the top of the agenda again.

Trumka is secretary treasurer of the AFL-CIO.