Soap Operas and Poodle Skirts?

As a mom, one of the many hats I wear is that of a chauffeur. All four of our children are extremely active. As such, I spend an extraordinarily large amount of time in my car. Between sports and church activities, we are ALWAYS on the go. To make this particular vocation more enjoyable, I have allowed myself to splurge and maintain an XM Radio subscription in my mom-mobile.

Although I usually yield to the listening preferences of the kids, lately I've been exercising my parental right to total domination over all things XM. And, in doing so, I've discovered XM 156, aka Oprah Radio!

Yesterday, on the way home from Tink's & Seashell's volleyball games, the Gayle King radio show was on. The discussion centered upon this:
The nation's poverty rate jumped to 14.3% in 2009, its highest level since 1994, and the 43.6 million Americans in need is the highest number in 51 years of record-keeping, the government said Thursday. --CNNmoney.com

As I listened to various callers phoning in to share their thoughts, one caller in particular had a rather interesting take on the whole unemployment/underemployment/poverty level situation in our country. An elderly gentlemen (no, I'm not guessing this; he stated his age to be 78), weighed in on the issue, expressing his opinion that the reason there is such a high unemployment rate in our country, and the reason there are more and more Americans living below the poverty level, is that "women have entered the workforce."

Now, as a woman, my first instinct was to become deeply offended. Though I am currently a homeschooling mom, I worked full time for many years and was pleased with the career God led me to after my teaching years (writing and editing Sunday School and Bible study curriculum). I only made the decision to stay home after it became clear to me that my primary ministry was my children, and I felt called to give them my all, rather than what was left of me after a full day at the office. Even then, I continued to freelance for several years.

I tell you this in order to help you understand my frame of reference, and to soften the blow for what I am about to say, because it's a doozie!
After listening to this man's comments, and subsequently picking my jaw up off the floor, I had to admit one thing to myself...there is a tiny bit of truth to what this man said.

Now, before I continue, let it be known that I have already donned my flame-retardant suit for this discussion, so if you see fit to flame me, have at it.

Listen, I'm not going to debate the morality/legality/personal choice aspects of women in the workforce. Let me be clear: I'm ALL FOR IT, and I think EVERY woman has the right to make her own choices. I certainly do not begrudge any woman the opportunity to do what makes her completely and fully happy. But there is one fact that stands that in some small way lends merit to what this gentleman believed. That fact is called The Law of Supply and Demand.

Prior to the 1950s the majority of the workforce was comprised of men. As more and more women, over the past 50 years, have entered the workforce, the labor supply has increased drastically. Unfortunately, the demand for labor has decreased as we have become a more technologically advanced society. Anyone who has studied supply curves and demand curves in Economics 101 understands that if supply is increased while demand is decreased, the price of any given product goes DOWN. In this case, that "price" is called salary.

So, lets put two and two together. We have an economy that basically tanked over the past few years. Many people lost their jobs (increasing that supply and decreasing that demand). We have technology advancing at such a rapid pace that many jobs are just no longer necessary, as they are all automated (again, increasing that supply and decreasing that demand). Add the fact that the workplace is no longer composed of primarily men, as it had been in the early 1900s through the late 1950s (increasing supply), and what does this all add up to? LOW WAGES for those who can even find employment. More and more people are working for less and less money. More Americans are living below the poverty level, and it seems there ain't nuthin we can do about it.

I'm forced to recognize the fact that there may NEVER again be that "American Dream" that so many have sought throughout the years. We cannot turn back time and return to that place of soap operas and poodle skirts. Technology will continue to make jobs "easier" (code word for automated). The gulf that separates the haves from the have-nots will only be getting wider and deeper.
What is the solution? Is there one? What say you?