# What Today’s Working Class Wants From Political Leaders  ## Metadata - Author:: [[Brookings]] - Full Title:: What Today’s Working Class Wants From Political Leaders - Category: #articles - URL: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-todays-working-class-wants-from-political-leaders/?utm_campaign=Brookings%20Brief&utm_medium=email&utm_content=283064882&utm_source=hs_email ## Highlights ##### What does the working class believe, and what does it want from political leaders? > On the face of it, working-class voters would appear to be evenly divided in their view of the political parties. Thirty-eight percent trust the Democrats more to put the interests of working-class voters first, while 37% trust the Republicans more. Thirty-six percent see the Democratic Party is more committed to governing and problem-solving than in waging partisan warfare, while 34% see the Republican Party in this light. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hfz2d3na8z5hawtj07qq933f)) > But this apparent even division is inconsistent with the [voting behavior](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2021/06/30/behind-bidens-2020-victory/) of America’s working class. In 2020, Joe Biden outpaced Donald Trump by 24 percentage points among voters with a college degree or more while losing to Trump by 8 points among those with less than a bachelor’s degree ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hfz2dycnntq1g019c403gcx6)) > The PPI poll helps us understand why this is so. Forty-five percent of working-class voters, it found, believe that the Democratic Party has moved “too far to the left,” and 40% see it as heavily influenced by “special interests like public sector unions, environmental activists, and academics.” ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hfz2esph9a9rky8yxkvpjwk0)) > They trust Republicans over Democrats to manage a growing economy, promote entrepreneurship and keep America ahead in new technologies, control public debt and deficits, handle immigration, reduce crime and protect public safety, and make public schools more responsive to parents ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hfz2f3pdj5nq8285mzr33s25)) > Democrats lead in only three areas: combatting climate change, managing America’s clean air transition, and respecting our democratic institutions and elections (the last by a narrow margin of 39% to 34%). ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hfz2fgkz6bxnj6hyxtwgjxh6)) > Progressive Democrats may be surprised to learn that working-class voters do not share their understanding of the proper role of government in the economy. Although 65% of working-class voters believe that the economy is controlled by the rich for their own benefit, just 19% of them want a large federal government focused on issues such as inequality and the distribution of wealth, compared to 34% who want a smaller federal government that spends and taxes less. A plurality of these voters—47%—opt for a middle course: a federal government that actively steers the economy, but mainly by promoting and protecting free markets. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hfz2hjcqg61y06e062rhc1wp)) > Asked to name the most significant challenge facing the economy today, 36% said “the high cost of living” while an additional 33% said “inflation is outpacing the economy.” ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hfz2jcn1beb8dvnz7f0t4g0r)) > Still, the most important change that working-class voters want to see in the Democratic Party concerns not the economy, but rather immigration ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hfz2k6k67sagjavtbpjdw2v8)) > These voters reject both opening the door to all comers and slamming the door shut. Instead, they want to reduce illegal entries into the United States while selectively increasing legal migration to bring in the workers our economy needs to grow. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hfz2kmqwt1ycpgnbsv6a5qjh)) > When asked for their views about policies that would help them personally to get ahead, their responses formed a similar pattern. Six percent mentioned joining a union and nine percent, getting a four-year college degree. By contrast, 69% mentioned apprenticeships with companies or other forms of short-term training programs that combine learning with work. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hfz2pcbvgssg1sj6ez5603tz)) > Overall, the PPI survey documents a pervasive sense of decline among working-class Americans ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hfz2ptv8zszxdvfs67p4n42q)) > Interestingly, they do not identify a single dominant cause for this decline: roughly equal numbers blame immigration, trade, automation, de-unionization, bad government programs, and cultural change ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hfz2qaen1wamrx2z74nt6d9k)) > In the short term, the political preferences of working-class voters are likely to be shaped by urgent issues such as high prices and illegal immigration. In the longer term, however, a party that combines moderation on cultural issues with support for government programs that would improve the prospects of upward mobility for the working class would likely improve its performance in this key part of the electorate. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hfz2qpe0cegmzvz8cpjdb8k9))