The share of the Democratic presidential vote in the Midwest declined most precipitously between 2012 and 2020 in counties that experienced the steepest losses in manufacturing and union jobs and saw declines in health care, according to a new report to be released this month. The party’s worsening performance in […] Read more »
Can Democrats Win Back the White Working Class?
Key Points• One of the defining features of American politics is the realignment of white, college-educated voters toward Democrats and that of white voters without a degree toward Republicans.• There are competing views on how or whether Democrats can perform better among white non-college voters.• Appealing to the economic interests […] Read more »
This may be the Democrats’ last chance to recover working-class Whites
The blue-collar barricade looms as the most stubborn obstacle to President Joe Biden enlarging his base of support. … Working-class White voters constituted the bedrock of the Democratic coalition from the 1930s to the 1960s but the party has lost ground among them, largely because of issues relating to race […] Read more »
Biden Impact on Rich, Poor, Middle Class
Most Americans say President Joe Biden’s policies are benefiting the rich, poor, and middle class alike, although few say he is providing a lot of help to any of these groups. Covid has declined as a top-of-mind worry for American families, with many focusing more on specific financial concerns. The […] Read more »
Is Education No Longer the ‘Great Equalizer’?
There is an ongoing debate over what kind of investments in human capital — roughly the knowledge, skills, habits, abilities, experience, intelligence, training, judgment, creativity and wisdom possessed by an individual — contribute most to productivity and life satisfaction. Is education no longer “a great equalizer of the conditions of […] Read more »
Bidenomics Really Is Something New
Some of the changes are obvious: Compared with the economic strategies of former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, Joe Biden is proposing more new spending and more new taxes than either of his Democratic predecessors, and he’s abandoned their support for negotiating new free-trade agreements. But Biden is also […] Read more »