Low-wage workers struggle to find middle-pay jobs

[alp227]

—Mar. 12, 2014 12:30 PM EDT By JOSH BOAK

WASHINGTON (AP) —For years, many Americans followed a simple career path: Land an entry-level job. Accept a modest wage. Gain skills. Leave eventually for a better-paying job.

The workers benefited, and so did lower-wage retailers such as Wal-Mart: When its staffers left for better-paying jobs, they could spend more at its stores. And the U.S. economy gained, too, because more consumer spending fueled growth.

Not so much anymore. Since the Great Recession began in 2007, that path has narrowed because many of the next-tier jobs no longer exist. That means more lower-wage workers have to stay put. The resulting bottleneck is helping widen a gap between the richest Americans and everyone else.

"Some people took those jobs because they were the only ones available and haven't been able to figure out how to move out of that," Bill Simon, CEO of Wal-Mart U.S., acknowledged in an interview with The Associated Press.

Full: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/low-wage-workers-struggle-find-middle-pay-jobs

[tularetom]

1. Government spending created the prosperity of the 2nd half of the 20th century

We don't that so much anymore.

Government investment in education, infrastructure and yes, even defense opened up career ladders for a whole lot of Americans.

The reason upward mobility no longer exists is that the our leaders are afraid to make the decisions to make those kinds of investment anymore. Private investment of course has departed these shores for more profitable locations.