And even then, more jobs will not necessarily mean higher wages. The latest government report on employers’ labor costs showed that nearly six years into the current economic recovery, wage growth, adjusted for inflation, remained tepid. If wages were tracking productivity growth, as would be expected in a healthy economy, they would be rising at a far stronger pace.

Of course, lower oil prices and lower overall inflation increase purchasing power, which explains the recent upsurges in consumer sentiment and consumer spending. That increase, however, is akin to a temporary tax cut. The extent to which it will lead to sustained stronger growth, if any, remains to be seen. For now, recent bolstered spending probably reflects consumers taking advantage of lower prices at the pump to indulge pent-up demand after years of belt tightening. To support elevated consumption on an ongoing basis, the savings rate, still low by historical standards, would have to fall lower still, an unlikely occurrence so soon after a debt binge.

The economy, in short, is still wounded, and the route to recovery runs through government. Direct policies could raise wages in the near term, including the minimum wage. Policies can also change norms that keep wages depressed. Currently, for example, corporate executives are fighting to delay a new rule under the Dodd-Frank law to require companies to disclose the ratio of a chief executive’s pay to the median pay of the company’s employees. The information could expose indefensible disparities and lead to higher employee pay. Still other policies could set the stage for healthy growth in the longer term, including immigration reform, infrastructure spending and education initiatives.

All such policies, however, require bipartisan congressional action or forceful regulation, which are in short supply. On its own, the Obama administration has advanced helpful policies to make home buying more affordable. It also will soon issue regulations to increase worker eligibility for overtime pay, which has been badly eroded over decades of congressional neglect of labor standards.

The Federal Reserve, for its part, has said it will put off interest rate increases until clearer signs of growth emerge. That is wise, though it is increasingly clear that the Fed’s efforts to revive the economy can, at best, maintain the economy at its current pace, not speed it up. That is not an argument to end those policies. It is a reminder that the members of Congress, and particularly the Republican majority, could do much more to help if they only would act to advance the broad interests of the public rather than the narrow interests of their party.