The president took a kitchen sink approach with his jobs plan: ask for a bunch of things and settle for a few. Given the dysfunction in Washington it’s a reasonable strategy. Dubbed the American Jobs Act, it’s one of the rare times that the title fits the proposal.

With insufficient time to analyze the plan’s details, today I’ll offer a general assessment. In general, the president exceeded my expectations. Then again, I didn’t expect anything.

The positives include the employee and employer payroll tax cuts, expanded trade agreements and recognizing that Medicare and the tax code need reform. The latter two were only part of the president’s speech, not the plan. And there are countless devils in the details for these two endeavors, but it’s a start.

Potential positives include expediting the patent process, facilitating mortgage refinancing, eliminating needless regulation, tax credits for hiring veterans and the chronic unemployed, and the repair or modernization of 35,000 schools.

The ideas with little merit include yet another extension of unemployment insurance, general new hire tax credits, and a focus on “shovel-ready” infrastructure projects and hiring teachers. The entire put-construction/teachers-to-work thing is traditional, failed, Democratic policy. It’s no coincidence these two professions are heavily unionized.

Also on the not-so-positive side is the small matter of paying for the stimulus. The president started the NFL season a tad early by punting this responsibility to the super committee. I’ll reserve judgment until we see the president’s soon-to-be-released deficit reduction plan.

Until I digest the details, let’s briefly examine why the employer payroll tax credit may work while the new hire tax credit is unlikely to be effective. The problem with the new hire tax credit is simple: the risk/reward ratio to an employer isn’t sufficient to appreciably move the hiring needle.

However, the numbers for the employer payroll tax credit do make sense. Better yet, because it targets only the first $5 million of payroll the benefit will finally go mostly to small businesses.

A company with a $500,000 payroll that employs 10 to 15 people serves as a good example. For such a company the 3.1 percent credit amounts to $15,000. The owner could do several things with the money. He or she could pocket the profit, reinvest the money in something like marketing, or hire someone. Two of the three possible uses immediately inject dollars into the economy. Those are decent odds of achieving economic stimulus.

More next week.

On this tenth anniversary of 9/11 it’s natural to reflect upon the event and the subsequent decade. I was in Barcelona and remained unaware of what had occurred until later in the day. Even after returning to our hotel we still had no idea that the towers had collapsed.

On the television were images of the towers burning but still standing. When the commentator began discussing the full extent of the tragedy I remember saying “What are they talking about? The towers haven’t collapsed.” And then they came down and it was as if we had witnessed it in real time.

Like everyone we were stunned. Unlike most, we were stunned in a foreign country thousands of miles away from home. The implications began to unfold over the next several days. We were scheduled to return on the 13th but that wasn’t going to happen. Our stay would be extended but for how long no one knew. Our hotel was booked and we needed to find an alternative lodging.

And that’s when something quite wonderful began occurring. Our hosts could not have been more gracious. The hotel arranged for us to move to a sister hotel. Business owners extended their hospitality by offering discounts to stranded travelers. Residents throughout the city offered condolences and support for America. And upon our return, the attendant at Logan Airport waived our entire parking fee.

The world had pulled together, not just in Barcelona but in Europe and beyond. Out of the tragedy we were presented an opportunity to unite as people and for a brief moment we did. I remember writing, or should I say hoping, that our leaders would seize this moment to develop a new level of global cooperation.

Sadly, our solidarity was temporary. Eventually, leadership here and abroad would squander the chance to make the world a better place. In remembrance we’ll undoubtedly momentarily pull together again. But this time it will be for a day, rather than for weeks or months. And tomorrow we will awaken to a level of divisiveness here and abroad that arguably has never been higher.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if, in our reflection we not only remember the horror but the magic that existed when the world pulled together? I’d settle for Americans pulling together to solve our problems rather than engaging in this constant bickering for political gain.

Mankind was treated to a glimpse of its potential in the aftermath of 9/11. People, with little in common and nothing to gain, made small sacrifices for no other reason than to help other human beings. What a tribute it would be to the victims of 9/11 if only we could harness and sustain that spirit.

Author, professor, entrepreneur, radio and TV commentator Tony Paradiso is a marketing and management expert.

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