A TARP-like program would solve the worst recession since the Great Depression.

Per Keith Girard, the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, also known as TARP, formed to help banks get back on their feet and re-establish credit markets, is a representation of the kind of effort that’s needed.

The plan would formulate direct government investments in business startups, much like a venture capital firm. It would take an equity interest in companies just as the government did with firms such as Citigroup, American International Group, and General Motors. In the long run, it could actually make money for taxpayers as companies go public or become established and pay back the funds.

Best of all, the infrastructure to make investments is already in place. A number of established business incubators, mainly at universities, are already positioned to find promising companies.