by Robert Wenzel Economic Policy Journal
Recently by Robert Wenzel: The Collapse of the Value of a College Education
This weekend, I had a discussion with a businessman, who sits on the board of a publicly traded staffing firm. He tells me that the middle class is disappearing. The country is being split into those savvy enough to survive in the overly regulated economy and everyone else.
CNN reports on the data that demonstrates this phenomena:
Some 58% of the jobs created during the recovery have been low-wage positions, according to a 2012 report by the National Employment Law Project. These low-wage jobs had a median hourly wage of $13.83 or less.
Employment & wages for largest U.S. occupations
Occupation U.S. employment 2012 annual mean wage Retail salesperson 4,340,000 $25,310 Cashier 3,314,010 $20,370 Food prep worker 2,943,810 $18,720 Office clerk 2,808,100 $29,270 Registered nurse 2,633,980 $67,930 Waiter 2,332,020 $20,710 Customer service representative 2,299,750 $33,110 Laborer 2,143,940 $26,410 Janitor/cleaner 2,097,380 $24,850 Secretary/administrative assistant 2,085,680 $33,560 Bottom line: The crony capitalists have built a moat around their businesses, eliminating the kind of competition that would hire high skilled labor. Obamacare, simply adds to the difficulties in hiring anything but very cheap labor. Outside of a tiny sliver of opportunity for software engineers and lawyers in Silicon Valley, you either launch something on your own or you will end up part a low paid tool for the crony machine.
Reprinted with permission from Economic Policy Journal.
