I agree with the general premise that bike shops should offer a $150-$200 bike. And some do come close; a large shop near me had Giant Sedonas on sale for $200 at their spring expo - that type of bike is the perfect low-end-but-quality bike that many beginners need.
Another issue - at least where I live - is that bike shops no longer seem to have the extensive inventory of used bikes that they once had. Even ten years ago I remember going to a local bike shop here and being surprised that they seemed to have as many used bikes as new bikes. I recently returned to that particular store and discovered that they no longer carried any used bikes.
When I was a kid, my parents always bought me bike-store bikes...but they were always used bike-store bikes. I'm not sure how available used bikes are anymore - and if the absence of bikes is due to a business decision on the part of the LBS's or is the result of there simply being fewer used bikes around.