I’m writing today to give some perspective from 50 years in the workplace. This is the fifth recession in my working life, and it is by far, the worst.

We hear a lot about failed policies, and those who’ve recently graduated are having tough times. I feel for them. However, I’d like to add some perspective. Just four years ago, we were at the edge of the abyss of another Great Depression. Perhaps even the mother of Great Depressions, since the world is now so interconnected. Yet today, we are hearing unemployment reports of 8 to 10 percent.

Consider that four years into the Great Depression, nonfarm unemployment was 35 percent. We avoided that. Even 10 years into the Great Depression, nonfarm unemployment was still 25 percent, about what Greece is suffering today. And we avoided that, too.

Last year, I felt we were well on our way to a recovery, based on the recoveries I’ve experienced. But this year, it has been stalled by politics, plain and simple. Lately, it seems like there’s a positive report every day or so. If you are struggling, it might seem like a change is appropriate, but I would suggest that you reconsider.

Like him or not, it is to President Barack Obama’s credit that we are talking about anything around 10 percent unemployment. If he’d had any cooperation from the other party, unemployment could have been even lower.

Be sure to vote.