The Sources of Anti-Establishment Anger
As we move towards November, it seems more and more likely that Hillary Clinton will become the next President of the United States. We may yet escape the catastrophe of a Trump presidency, but the country remains deeply hurt and distrustful of our current leadership. The American People are looking for change and real progress.
Trump has inflamed and exploited the fear and pain of his followers by hurling insults and targeting immigrants, Muslims and others as scapegoats. The behavior of Trump and his followers is disgraceful. However, the pain and anxiety that Americans are feeling is genuine and legitimate.
As Bernie Sanders has pointed out eloquently during the campaign, the Middle Class has been squeezed by rising costs and stagnant wages. This pressure is forcing people down and out of comfortable lifestyles into a more desperate, month to month or even day to day existence. I have seen friends and family who grew up, as I did, in affluent suburbs, who now find themselves living in apartments in poorer neighborhoods.
Things are even tougher on the bottom rungs of society. The collapse of the housing market in 2007-2008 have forced thousands of families out of houses and into apartments. This has caused rents, especially here in California, to skyrocket. A one bedroom apartment in my home town now rents for $2,400 per month. People are traveling 70 miles or more every day to get from their apartments in the far eastern valleys to jobs in San Francisco and Oakland.
The Alameda County Food Bank used to serve one in every six residents. It now serves one in five. This, in one of the most affluent and prosperous areas of the United States.
Meanwhile, our elected officials seem unable or unwilling to pass laws and enact changes that truly make a difference in people's lives. In turn, the public is becoming more disenchanted and cynical towards our system of government. This disillusionment has fueled the Neo-Socialist campaign of Sanders and the frightful demagoguery of Trump.
Though the anger may be channeled differently on the right versus the left, the root of the problem is the same. While stark divisions remain between the Republican and Democratic parties, there should be plenty of common ground with which to shape solutions. Regardless of who is president, and which party controls the U.S. Congress, eight more years of gridlock and partisan bickering is completely unacceptable.
In my next few blogs, I am going to examine some of the root causes of what is vexing our culture, and make some suggestions for paths forward.
Trump has inflamed and exploited the fear and pain of his followers by hurling insults and targeting immigrants, Muslims and others as scapegoats. The behavior of Trump and his followers is disgraceful. However, the pain and anxiety that Americans are feeling is genuine and legitimate.
As Bernie Sanders has pointed out eloquently during the campaign, the Middle Class has been squeezed by rising costs and stagnant wages. This pressure is forcing people down and out of comfortable lifestyles into a more desperate, month to month or even day to day existence. I have seen friends and family who grew up, as I did, in affluent suburbs, who now find themselves living in apartments in poorer neighborhoods.
Things are even tougher on the bottom rungs of society. The collapse of the housing market in 2007-2008 have forced thousands of families out of houses and into apartments. This has caused rents, especially here in California, to skyrocket. A one bedroom apartment in my home town now rents for $2,400 per month. People are traveling 70 miles or more every day to get from their apartments in the far eastern valleys to jobs in San Francisco and Oakland.
The Alameda County Food Bank used to serve one in every six residents. It now serves one in five. This, in one of the most affluent and prosperous areas of the United States.
Meanwhile, our elected officials seem unable or unwilling to pass laws and enact changes that truly make a difference in people's lives. In turn, the public is becoming more disenchanted and cynical towards our system of government. This disillusionment has fueled the Neo-Socialist campaign of Sanders and the frightful demagoguery of Trump.
Though the anger may be channeled differently on the right versus the left, the root of the problem is the same. While stark divisions remain between the Republican and Democratic parties, there should be plenty of common ground with which to shape solutions. Regardless of who is president, and which party controls the U.S. Congress, eight more years of gridlock and partisan bickering is completely unacceptable.
In my next few blogs, I am going to examine some of the root causes of what is vexing our culture, and make some suggestions for paths forward.
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I am not thrilled with Hillary, but I am terrified of Trump.