2 Charts Show How the Country’s Biggest Voting Bloc Is Doing
Bubba
30 Oct
Non-college white Americans, the largest voting bloc in the country, have been struggling over the past four years relative to other groups. (Kevin Drum)
White men without college degrees have seen their inflation-adjusted wages decline 4% since 2019, while wages for their Asian, black and Hispanic counterparts have grown.
Chart: Kevin Drum
White women without college degrees have seen their inflation-adjusted wages grow at a much smaller clip compared to Asian, black and Hispanic women.
Chart: Kevin Drum
Related: In 1980, the income of white men without college degrees was 7% higher than that of the average worker.
Nowadays, non-college white men’s incomes are more than 10% lower than the average worker’s.
It’s not just about the money: Economic shifts have led to a devaluing of certain kinds of blue-collar work in America in both wages and prestige and status.
New York Times reporter Emily Badger:
Observers largely misunderstood the role of the economy in Donald J. Trump’s rise, said Noam Gidron, a political scientist. Many voters who turned to Mr. Trump were middle income, not poor. But that doesn’t mean economic factors didn’t matter, he said. Rather, right-wing populism across Western democracies doesn’t necessarily appeal to those with the lowest incomes, but to those who are downwardly mobile.
The politics: 60% of Bill Clinton’s supporters were white non-college grads; only 27% of Joe Biden’s were.
Bubba’s Two Cents
The above data underscore the roots of political tension in America. If you believe the fading fortunes of blue-collar communities are just the price of progress, you’re probably aligned very differently than someone who sees it as a crisis demanding change.