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[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

I’ve heard them described as Upper Precariat. They are in fact economically downtrodden. One job loss or layoff away from disaster.

Of course, a lot of people are in that situation. There’s a story on Reuters right now about how 30% of people making $200k are living paycheck to paycheck.

But I think the Trump households are more in the $50k to $120k range. One job loss and junior doesn’t have any college funds. I think a lot of them are borrowed to the tits and cash flow is essential.

They aren’t the desperate poor, but they’re hanging on by their nails. My guess is there’s a lotta fungible middle managers and professionals in MAGA nation.

You can see a version of their fate play out in law firm layoffs. You see these lawyers who lose a job and just vanish. They go from decently paid to long term unemployed overnight. No book, no value. What’s a middle aged middle manager got to offer the job market? Not much.

MAGAland bought a bullshit story about the American Dream early in their careers, but it hasn’t been reading the papers over the past 30 years. Unless you were utterly clueless and terrifically uninformed, you could see all of this precariousness coming. Shit, Ross Perot warned MAGAland of the “great sucking sound” back in 1992.

So yeah, they’re downtrodden. They’re scared, and I don’t think they’ve the skills to sell or the ability to pivot to other careers as private equity buys their employers, rolls them up, and downsizes them.

It's lovely description of how people with more money are in fact the downtrodden, but if, by your take, Trump voters are downtrodden, then Biden voters are even more downtrodden, and the word becomes meaningless.

You have exquisite sensitivity for the economic pain of the more affluent people who support Trump, but ignore the economic pain of the less affluent people who support Biden.

Downtrodden my ass.