The latest unemployment claims figures show that the economic slump is not over. Worse, the government has not seemed to know how to create jobs.

Politicians on both sides of the aisle keep talking about the need to create jobs, and that helping small business is the key to rebuilding our economy. That is true, because most new jobs come from small businesses. Some come from new start-up companies and some come when small businesses are able to expand.

Most politicians say that they want to support helping small businesses grow. But the truth is that most of them have no clue about what small businesses really need. Most of them have never owned a small business, let alone run one. They don’t really know the problems that can, or do, affect small businesses. Those politicians don’t help small businesses when they vote strictly on a partisan basis, rather than to help their small business constituents.

Several things are necessary to create new jobs. First, elected and appointed officials need to understand the issues that face small businesses. Second, they need to talk to real small business owners, not so-called spokespersons for them. Two-way communications are necessary if we want to improve our economy and create new jobs.  Small businesses have a high failure rate, since many take big risks in investing money and time in their new business. They want to minimize that risk by knowing their actual costs, in order to plan marketing and finance needs for their business. For example, health care reform regulations could add direct and indirect costs that eat away at their income. Increased taxes from other new government programs also discourage small businesses from expanding and adding more jobs.

Most small businesses (and big businesses, too) are afraid to invest or expand their companies, unless they know what a business needs to know what new regulations or taxes will cost their businesses in the future. For businesses, the lack of knowledge of what costs will be cripples investment opportunities. With personal money at risk, business owners want as much information as possible, but right now, they don’t have it.

Federal and state decisions that affect businesses need transparency and better communications, between politicians and businesses. Transparency occurs when government officials are open and clear about their intentions. Even when the new health care law was approved, many rules were left vague and the specific regulations were left out. Most of the details of implementation will be up to the regulatory agencies which will oversee the new law. Many federal bills in the hopper are not read personally by most politicians before each bill is voted into law. Both political parties are guilty of this practice. Small businesses have to learn what changes or additions will be made to those laws, after the fact. In essence, small businesses can’t input their concerns ahead of time.

Maine has some politicians from opposite political parties that are exceptions to the general rule, who understand small businesses problems. Governor Baldacci knows the workings of small business since his family owned a small restaurant business. Senator Olympia Snowe was majority chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and still serves on that committee.

There are things government can do to help businesses invest in new jobs and growth, such as setting up regionalized, non-partisan small business committees, for each legislative voting district, to communicate suggestions and ideas between small businesses and their political representatives.

Several temporary incentives can be tied. One would be to reduce payroll taxes for new job hires. For another, the government could scrap minimum wages for 18- to 22-year-old young men and women who are out-of-work, high school drop-outs or graduates not employed who haven’t found a job as yet, but are willing to work temporarily for less money.

We also need to loosen regulators’ stringent standards over bank loans to small businesses. The government should increase its guarantees on small business loans, with borrower fees waived.

Our government should encourage wealthy immigrants with at least $100,000 in capital to open a small business as a condition for citizenship. It will mean more jobs for us. A number of foreign countries are doing this now.

Now is time to speak to your state and federal representatives about your ideas for creating jobs.

— Bernard Featherman is a business columnist and past president of the Biddeford-Saco Chamber of Commerce. He can be reached by e-mail: bernard@featherman.com.