Former President Donald Trump has many accomplishments. extravagant promises and claims In the middle of the campaign. However, he accomplished little economically during his time in office, especially for his political base of working-class men.
playing cards He actually presided over 2.7 million jobs lost, Includes thousands of manufacturing jobs, in part thanks to him. tragic mishandling Impact of the new coronavirus pandemic. Economists on both the right and the left now agree that: His new proposal for huge tariffs It would hurt consumers without benefiting workers and would be a net negative for the economy.
It is clear that President Trump's main appeal to working-class men is to stoke discontent and resentment, not to provide actual economic value. The process only deepens cynicism and anger over time. playing cards remind More and more outrageous lies are being told, insults are being thrown, A barely veiled threat State violence against political opponents, especially aimed at provoking disaffected youth.
However, the problems of working class men in American society are actually very real and getting worse. And they cannot be solved by empty promises.
Like famous sociologist Richard Reeves and others documentedmen now die six years earlier than women, up from just two years a few decades ago. The main cause is an increase in “deaths of despair'' such as drug overdose and suicide. “The risk of dying by suicide is four times higher for boys and men than for women.40,000 people died by suicide That's about the same number of women who die from breast cancer each year,” Reeves said.
Boys lag far behind in academic performance at all levels, with the proportion of undergraduates There are almost 2 female undergraduates for every 1 male student.. This makes it much more difficult for men to earn a salary to support their families and compete in the modern information economy. Not surprisingly, men More and more people are losing their labor force More numbers than ever are unproductive, even during the times when they are supposed to be most productive engaged in love or marriage and withdraw from society.
Idris Karoon, New Yorker pointed out“Men are promoting a new brand of reactionary Republican politics predicated on a return to better times.” But President Trump has no serious plan for men to make times better. There isn't.
Democrats have long tended to focus on issues important to female voters because of the wide gender disparity, with most women favoring the Democratic Party and men often favoring the Republican Party. Opinion polls show that the gender gap, which was already markedly large in the last election, The range has widened even further since Kamala Harris and Tim Walz became Democratic candidates..
recent New York Times poll In three key battleground states (Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin), 55% of registered voters supported President Trump, compared to just 39% of women. This helps explain why Issues such as abortion This is a very important point for Harris Walz and other Democratic candidates. But it also means Democrats have a huge opportunity to appeal to people whose expectations President Trump has failed to live up to.
To their credit, the Harris Waltz campaign finally Work more directly and concretely For American men, especially working class men. Walz recently held a media blitz in battleground states to “reach men of persuasion,” while also co-chairing a media blitz with basketball stars Stephen Curry, Magic Johnson and Chris Paul. They mobilized surrogate mothers through the Athletes for Harris program.
Just last week, Harris announced a new initiative. specifically targeted black men. The Opportunity Agenda for Black Men includes forgiveness of 1 million $20,000 loans for Black entrepreneurs and others, increased investment in apprenticeship training in Black communities, and Black male teachers. recruitment and retention, and health equity efforts. Black men's needs. as Karoon put itBlack men's life prospects have been “damaged by decades of mass incarceration,” and black men, especially those without college degrees, “have seen their real wages fall, their life expectancy decline significantly, and their life expectancy decline at an alarming rate.” Families are falling apart.”
But the Harris Waltz campaign also aims to help young people of all races and backgrounds, especially those without college experience, cope with employment, health, training, and related challenges. opportunities programs need to be created.
For example, governments naturally implement many women's health programs; proposed by a member of parliament A study of the creation of the Federal Office of Men's Health and the effectiveness of federal support related to men's health initiatives. Harris also said she supports changes that would make job seekers without a college degree eligible for many federal jobs. As a senator, Harris introduced the 21st Century Skills Act.Expanding funding for workers and job seekers It is intended for use in training programs (unfortunately, this bill did not become law).
But her campaign calls for more serious efforts to connect young people, especially those in rural areas, with education and training that leads to employment, and to help them gain independence and status in their communities. Must be.
of Democratic Party platform We call for free communities and trade schools, and encourage new investment in apprenticeships, career and technical education. If elected, Ms. Harris would enact the best of these programs in a way that actually allows young men, as well as women, to regain employment and educational opportunities and secure positions in society. have to fight hard to do so.
This is not just a political issue. It is meant to help our country better cope with the many disastrous economic and sociological changes we have experienced in recent decades, and in some cases, to address the culture wars that are dividing us. You may even be able to make it less appealing.
Paul Bledsoe is a professor at the Center for Environmental Policy at American University. He served on the staff of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee under Chairman Daniel Patrick Moynihan (New York).
