The problem is multifaceted and illustrated very well by the push to pay a living wage at jobs never intended to be careers. Fast food is a great example. When I was younger you could go to Mc Donalds and there might be one person working there say 30ish, the rest were typically 20 and under. Now you go and virtually no one there under 20, half the staff is usually in their 30's and 40's.
I'm not an expert on the economy but is that not an issue. It seems like we spent way too much time discussing symptoms and not fighting the root cause.