By Dan Walters, Sacramento Bee

California’s economy is recovering from its worst recession since the Great Depression – no doubt about that.

But its recovery is very slow, very geographically and socioeconomically uneven, and exacerbates the decline of a once-vibrant middle class and the evolution of a distinctly two-tiered society.

Sure, there is plenty of opportunity for those with the educations, creativity or technical skills that the post-industrial economy rewards handsomely and their success spawns demands for low-skill, low-pay service workers.

But what about the middle class? What about aerospace craftsmen, automobile assemblers, petrochemical plant operators, movie industry technicians and myriad other well-paying occupations that accompanied California’s rise as a major economic power in the 20th century?

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