What can be done to make retirement work out right for middle class Americans like Joe?
First, we need to ensure that all Americans benefit from a growing economy — higher wages and rising living standards generated by a world-class workforce. We need investment, public and especially private, in our workers’ skills, their abilities, and their capacity to work together. This is not a matter of simply creating jobs. The economy has added more than five million jobs since January l993, most in high-paying occupations, and the Administration is justifiably proud of that record. But the 110 million existing jobs continue to split between a relatively few well-paying ones, mostly for well-educated professionals and executives, and a much larger number going nowhere. This is not a matter of simply generating growth. Corporate profits soared 45 percent in the last quarter, and productivity grew at an annual rate of 2.7 percent. But wage growth hasn’t matched this pace. And this is not simply a matter of increasing overall wealth. Between 1983 and 1989, mean household wealth inc
