It's not necessarily pubic programs that are the problem. Unemployment among low-skill workers is still high[1]. I don't see how increasing competition for unsk

It's not necessarily pubic programs that are the problem. Unemployment among low-skill workers is still high[1]. I don't see how increasing competition for unskilled jobs is good for those already struggling workers suffering from a low-skill labor glut. And intuitively I'd expect high-skilled workers to generate more complementary jobs than low-skilled ones. Today's economy and the economy in 1920 or even 1960 don't much resemble each other. For starters, the costs of labor regulation and employer mandates sets a pretty high price floor on labor. That creates a much more difficult market for workers with relatively low marginal productivity to find work. Also, the population has a far more top-heavy age distribution than it used to have. This country is going to need a very productive labor force to maintain the welfare state at anything close to the current tax levels. [1] http://c4.nrostatic.com/sites/default/files/YL%20chart.jpg http://c4.nrostatic.com/sites/default/files/YL%20chart.jpg