( CNN ) -- Here 's one from the obvious file : There 's no `` magic wand '' that -- poof ! -- creates jobs in the United States , or anywhere else . In response to my column this week on long-term unemployment , some of you commented that the president does n't have superpowers to create jobs for the rest of us . Or you pointed out that he should be part in the process -- but job-creation is actually something Congress or business leaders should take on instead . I thought those were great points . Here 's my favorite comment -- mostly because it uses the term `` pea brain '' ( and yes , it 's in reference to me , but you 've got ta love a nerdy insult , especially when it includes a vegetable ) : . `` Are you so stupid that you think the President just waves his magic wand and jobs are created ? Let me give you a lesson in government Sutter . Maybe your pathetic conservative pea brain will be able to grasp one fact : The President proposes and Congress legislates . So it is the Republican Congress that is keeping that poor woman unemployed . They have done nothing to aleviate ( sic ) her plight ... '' The `` poor woman '' the commenter , who used the screen name `` tom sellier , '' referenced is Kim Peters , an unemployed mom who invited me into her home Tuesday to watch the State of the Union . Overall , Peters , who has been unemployed on and off for five years , did n't take much comfort from the speech . She 's more worried about keeping a roof over her head . Some of the most cutting things Peters had to say focused on House Speaker John Boehner , whose apparent indifference toward the State of the Union -- scowling , licking his lips , looking very `` get me outta here '' -- made her angry . Her point of view , and I think there is some merit to this , is that President Obama wants to promote infrastructure projects and other `` stimulus '' efforts that would create jobs , but Republicans are so focused on the deficit they wo n't consider spending money on that . She was n't thrilled with everything Obama said either . Drafting public policy that will create jobs and put people back to work is a tricky thing . That 's part of the reason I argued the first and easiest thing we all can do to help the long-term unemployed is to treat them as equal humans . Currently , they 're some of the most maligned people in our society . Companies put out ads saying they only will consider employed candidates . Recruiters toss their resumes before taking a look . Generally , I think the national sentiment is that unemployed people must have done something wrong to end up jobless . As a person who 's been laid off before , I can tell you that 's not always the case . It 's unfair to give unemployed people less of a chance at getting back on their feet . If anything , I think they deserve more consideration . It 's the fair thing to do . Other readers said getting a job is an individual 's responsibility . `` I 've been unemployed and it sucks . . . BUT you do whatever you have to to get work you dig ditches , you wash dishes , empty trash , you may even have to move your home , '' wrote mikemc58 . `` Point is you have to think outside the box and get out of your comfort zone . Wishes and dreams are n't going to do it . Get off your butt hit the streets everyday asking , looking , volunteering , for a job . And listening to Obama drone on about how good the economy is useless , because as we all know , 'we ' who live in the REAL world know it 's NOT . GOV is not the answer , personal responsibility and self motivation is the key to finding new work . '' That 's another fair point , although I think individual effort only goes so far when there are 3.4 unemployed workers for every job opening in the United States in December , according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics . And it 's important to empathize with people who become stuck in a cycle of hopelessness and depression the longer their unemployment continues . That 's not an easy cycle to break . One more thing to bring up about the comments : While many of you wrote in to ask how you can help long-term unemployed people get back on their feet , several of you attacked Peters -- criticizing her ownership of a TV , saying she should n't have cable if she does n't have a job ( she actually does n't have cable , but that 's beside the point ) and speculating about what type of cell phone she uses . What silliness , right ? And it speaks to the underlying problem here : We 're inclined to attack unemployed people -- to judge their financial situations and to speculate about what might have put them out of work . That 's unhelpful . And discriminatory . Peters , the woman I featured , told me that ending ignorance will help end unemployment . Government and business leaders must help , too . But I think she 's right : a simple shift in attitude -- trading ignorance for empathy -- can and will make a huge difference . The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of John D. Sutter .
Commenter : `` You think the President just waves his magic wand and jobs are created ? '' John Sutter : Congress , the president and all of us can help . Sutter : The long-term unemployed encounter widespread discrimination . Commenter : `` You do whatever you have to to get work ''