And yet this group didn't vote for the party that says it will work to their advantage. And why should they. The Democratic Party had not been on these people's sides for at least 30 years, probably longer and we need to be honest about why that is. The Democratic Party has paid more attention to large financial interests such as the big investment banks. It was the Democratic Party that removed the restrictions placed by the Glass-Steagall act that made it easier for the behemoths of Wall Street to drive the economy into the gutter and force the hand of the government to reach out to save them. Since then legislation meant to curb the banks has been under attack from the right which is nothing short of incredible since they also managed to get the displaced workers to vote for them. It doesn't matter that the GOP and Libertarians are lying through their teeth when they say that less regulation will create more jobs. It is enough, at least for now, that someone is paying attention to them.
Under Bush 41 NAFTA was negotiated and it probably needed to be due to increased globalization and to increase exports from American industry but it also meant that we had to accept goods from elsewhere that could be sold more cheaply. The problem with this is that we left the American Worker behind. There should have been legislation that would have ensured that the displaced worker would either be placed into another equally lucrative field or that he would be compensated, for lifetime if necessary, for the loss of his way of life. Then retraining would make sense for younger workers but it has to be recognized that even with retraining there still has to be jobs for them to go into. Again, this is the role of government to introduce stimulating legislation to help these new industries to get on their feet. Is this a socialist program? Absolutely, but the Democratic Party can't afford to be Republican lite. The Democratic Party has to be obviously the party of the American Worker. Would this increase the size of government? Absolutely, but the people need to understand that government is their friend, not their enemy.
As it is what on earth does the displaced American Worker have to give him or her confidence in being able to provide for the family and to feel useful and productive. Absolutely nothing and that is where the Republican Party, Libertarians and all, are happy to leave them. Leave them there until market forces create new jobs (or not) for them. Well, it will be too late for them and, as this PBS report says, they will succumb to the comfort and oblivion of alcohol and drugs. Cue the next generation for whom the 4 year college degree is no longer the key to unlock the door to a successful career and another generation is lost until it has become an avalanche that will only be cured by disaster.
The point is that we know what needs to be done. It is a matter of deciding to make government do the job that only it can do to work for the average American Worker as well as it works for the 1%. Of course it will cost money and there should be an assessment on the industry that is benefiting form the offshoring of jobs to help pay for it. Why on earth would Democrats expect market forces to treat the people fairly? Market forces do not do that. They favor those with power and that power has to be curbed. There is no solution to this problem in the ferocity of unfettered capitalism just as the answer does not lie in pure communism. The balance must be sought and the defining characteristic of that balance must be the welfare of the Average Worker.
The Democratic Party came into greatness after the crash of 1929 that led to the Great Depression. People realized that there was only one option if they wanted government to work for them. The growth of labor unions exemplified the power of the many but good times allowed the Democratic Party to drift away from the economic well being of the Average Worker. The avarice of the free market, idolized by the Republican Party, is relentless and it steadily encroached on the welfare of the worker until President Reagan when it burst into its full glory and the average American Worker has not had a raise since then even though productivity has increased exponentially. The rebirth of the Democratic Party will not come unless we take off our suits and put on our boots. We need to get down into the trenches with the people and make them understand they have a partner. It will not be easy. Nor should it be. The very first thing that must be done is to level the playing field by removed the cancer of money influencing our political system. This must be done to return elected representatives fealty to the people rather than monied special interests.
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