Q &A
Q _ You interviewed working-class people across the country. What is the most significant lesson you learned from them?
A _ That you can love a country that has betrayed you. That you can love people who vote for the other party and support policies that you don’t. That polarization is a totally elite phenomenon.
Despite being incredibly diverse, working-class Americans are surprisingly united on the big issues, whether it’s abortion or immigration or equal opportunity or the need for better jobs and better health care. The problem is that neither party represents where the vast majority of working-class Americans are at politically, so it’s something of a crapshoot which party they choose. Unlike the college educated (on both sides), they don’t identify with the list of positions listed on the DNC or rNC websites, so they aren’t overly invested in politics and would never dream of holding it against someone who picks the other party in the voting booth because it signifies so little.
Both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump say their policies are better for the working class. What policies really would have a positive impact?
Greatly expanding vocational training. Greatly limiting immigration. A government-backed catastrophic health care plan. Outlawing degree requirements for jobs that don’t require them, and [outlawing] software that weeds out those without a college degree during the application process. Making zoning laws illegal and expanding light-touch density housing which greatly expands the housing stock by allowing for duplexes and triple deckers to be built in areas currently zoned exclusively for single-family detached homes. Expanding tariffs on foreign imports. Reducing welfare fraud but expanding the child tax credit. Basically, finding ways to make sure people who work really hard are ensured a dignified life and the American Dream, which they aren’t today.
Good health care is a significant concern for everyone. How has the Affordable Care Act impacted people you interviewed?
It didn’t solve the problem for most of the people I interviewed.
Many of them had insurance through work but were still going broke due to things like copays and deductibles. Others were paid so little they qualified for Medicaid. The health care system in this country is such a disaster.
What do you think are the most significant barriers to upward mobility?
The offshoring of manufacturing to China and Mexico and the expansion of immigration are the two biggest ones. We took good-paying, working-class jobs that ensured a stable, middle-class life to millions of Americans and shipped them overseas to build up the middle class of other countries.
