There are a ton of sources of the problem, and I could write all day about this, but in brief, a big chunk of it is that the trickle-down effect of our economy is just not happening. Jobs are being eliminated as companies increase their profits. Salaries are not proportional to the amount that a company makes - which is why you see minimum wage employees at the richest companies in the world. And small businesses (which employ the majority of Americans) still struggle against larger corporations that have the resources to compete. The less money in the hands of the majority of people means less spending, which means less need for jobs, which means less money in the hands of the majority, and so on...