Good Jobs Are Hard To Find

A new report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research finds that our economy has lost one-third of its ability to create what are defined as "good jobs." A good job is one that pays at least 37,000 dollars a year and offers health insurance and a retirement plan. And the data shows that since 1979, Americans workers of all education levels have lost these good jobs. That includes workers with less than a high school degree and workers with more than a college degree. Why is this happening? Well, the report concludes: "The real culprit is the systematic decline in the bargaining power of workers — reflected in a drop in... the minimum wage, a collapse in the unionization rate in the private-sector, the deregulation of previously well-paying industries, the privatization of state and local government jobs, a series of business-biased trade deals, a dysfunctional immigration system, poor enforcement of already weak labor standards, and high unemployment." In other words, Reaganomics is to blame.