The problem is that good jobs in the '50s and '60s didn't require many skills (not ones that couldn't be taught on the job anyway). Most of the good jobs today require a college degree, and good analytical and social skills. For one reason or another, a substantial portion of Americans don't have that degree or those skills. The average college graduate today is far better off than an average college graduate half a century ago, and this is despite a sharp increase in the number of college graduates (which should theoretically decrease the value of a college degree).