[SamAdams76]

Eliminate the welfare state and suddenly labor force participation will be high again.

[meadsjn]

That is partially correct; but more likely, crime will increase dramatically. The majority of the welfare types were never productive citizens, and are not likely to ever be.

Labor force participation
Low labor force participation rate continues to plague the economy

Any honest person could look at the above graph, and understand that the decline in the labor force participation rate from 1996-2014 is an accurate parallel of the increased flow of immigrant work visas from the 1996 and 1999 legislative changes and subsequent renewals.

Job wise, the USA is back in 1978 Jimmy Carter territory, and the communists of both parties are to blame. Yes, the RINOs are the Trotskyite wing of the US communists.

Manipulating the factors of production by warping the national laws to favor certain groups or individuals is not free market capitalism. The USA has no shortage of citizens with STEM degrees.