We continue to face serious economic problems in this country. Our economy is being buffeted by high debt, rising costs of energy, lack of job growth and a housing crisis, leading to hundreds of thousands of foreclosures across the nation.

First of all, our growing national debt undermines our ability to bounce back from the recession in which we are stuck. We could go broke as a nation if the current financial situation remains unchecked. Consumer confidence fell in January, as reported by The Consumer Board, a private research group.

Our federal government owes more than $15 trillion and nothing seems to be happening to substantially reduce that debt. The government is borrowing billions of dollars to pay its current debt and adding close to $1.5 trillion each year to do so. And while this is happening, the standard of living for most of our citizens continues to decline. There has been a modest rebound in the stock market, with stocks slowly climbing, with the Dow Jones industrial average rising about 3.4 percent in January.

We need a reduction in federal and state operating costs to pay down our debts. We need to eliminate earmarks and reduce entitlement programs that aren’t working or are out-dated. People over 55 years of age should retain their current Social Security and Medicare programs, but for everyone else, revisions need to be made, both on what they pay in and what they will receive, to prevent future shortfalls in the programs.

Energy costs remain a huge problem for us. Foreign oil sources are priced too high, are too unfriendly to our nation, and are too uncertain. Industry and government must find alternate energy sources to provide lower energy operating costs, to replace high-priced foreign oil. Natural gas is plentiful in our country. It should be explored and used, not hindered by regulations. Solar energy and wind mill power sources have proved to be very expensive. What we need are cheaper gas and electric sources that can be obtained from within our own country.

The problem of creating jobs is going to be with us for quite awhile. The latest figures show that production is up for many companies, but jobs are not. This is because increases in technology have reduced the need for labor. In addition, there is a substantial mismatch between the jobs that are available, and people with the skills to fill them, which is a real problem for the State of Maine.

Education is the key to opening the job market in the future, but we need to change both the culture and training we are presently offering. We must keep students from dropping out of school, and see that they take postsecondary school training after they graduate. Too many young people in Maine, and their families, do not recognize how important specialized training will be in getting jobs in the future.

Specially trained career guidance counselors should be available to help first- and second-year college students stay in college, to learn and later earn, rather than quit and drop out of school when the job market is so tough to enter.

Community colleges and vocational training centers that teach specialized skills for plumbing, electrical, welding, carpentry and culinary food jobs can prepare students for jobs that offer decent wages. It may take several years to get an education preparing for a specific job, but with the right knowledge, graduates will be ahead in competition for those jobs.

Finally, before the economy can be healthy, we need to solve our housing crisis. Home ownership is the principal form of wealth for many Americans, and the losses in housing value have had a devastating effect on the poor and on minorities in this country. For example, blacks and Latinos, who have had most of their assets invested in their homes, have seen their median wealth erode to just one-twentieth of what white families have, according to a study earlier this year, by the Pew Research Center.

Because of the downturn in the housing market, many homeowners now owe mortgages for more than the present assessed value of their homes. And many, who have lost their jobs, lack the income to pay their mortgages. For those who need to sell, there are too few buyers.

We face big challenges. But we are a strong state in a strong country. We can do it.

— Bernard Featherman is a business columnist for the Journal Tribune and former president of the Biddeford-Saco Chamber of Commerce.