My two cents: Not only do our "national leaders" have some culpability, but our culture in general that perpetuates the myth that only college graduates have a shot at a bigger bite of the apple. There are so many college grads out there with useless degrees in subjects like "womyn's studies" who can't find jobs - yet many technical and trade positions go unfilled by Americans because these fields have been demonized as "not good enough" for Johnny and Susie.