Like most things in life it is not just 1 thing you can point your finger to for a source of the problem.
I speak from what I honestly believe is balanced point of view. I used to social work, have a degree in Sociology and have close relatives that have backgrounds in social work related fields. For the last 8 years I have been in the business world, either in outside sales or trading.
One of the problems we are dumbing kids down for last few decades. Here is just one common example. One of my relatives was a teacher for 37 years. She taught mostly advanced placement math to junior high kids, with some regular math classes. When the district she worked in opened enrollment district wide she was now teaching some kids for whom English wasn't their first language.
She grew up in Upstate NY, she speaks no Spanish, I speak some, growing up in So Cal. Time is a finite resource which you can't get back, we can all agree on that right? Now my relative has to spend 2-4 times as long explaining the subject to kids that don't understand English well so everyone gets less of her time. Are illegal aliens totally to blame? Of course not. Am I advocating segregation by ability, not race or genger, possibly yes.
That's what the school system did when I was in school. It's called remedial classes. The do it in Europe and it works pretty well. If you aren't an academic genius they track towards a vocation, auto mechanics, wood shop, metal work and the tax dollars pay to teach you a trade that you can support yourself and society with. That way the smart kids get the best academic resources and the kids best with their hands learn trades to make the decent $$$ and support themselves.
Why do ppl. have to pay thousands of $$$ to go to Sierra Auto Mechanics School? Why don't we teach this to guys and girls that aren't academically inclined? A mechanic can make $20-30 HR + or more. Why did we as a country get away from what worked. Vocational training, taught at schools, funded by our tax dollars that provide jobs for our kids. Not everyone should or wants to go to college.
I don't believe in pure Capitalism or Socialism, a hybrid is the solution.