“We need an economy where, if you are willing to go out there and work hard and play by the rules, you can support a family on your wage.”
— Sen. Josh Hawley
government investments in pipelines and nuclear energy. Hawley, a leader in GOP support for labor and policy to
help the working class, told Newsmax, “Republicans need to deliver on our working-class promises for the working- class coalition President Trump has assembled. “We can start by protecting workers’ rights, expanding
the child tax credit, and capping credit card interest rates. Let’s quit doing the C-suite’s bidding and fight for the American worker and consumer.” In a recent podcast with Sean O’Brien, head of the Teamsters Union, Hawley also advocated bringing “critical manufacturing back to this country. We need to rebuild the entire productive sector. “We need an economy where, if you are willing to go out
Who Are the Working Class? T
here are an estimated 100 million Americans who are working class. Definitions vary, but mostly people
agree that: They are without a four-year degree from college, with
incomes between $30,000 and $80,000 a year. Some do skilled labor. Some do unskilled labor. Few have seen a significant rise in wages for hours worked
since the 1970s. The working class is floundering in its pursuit of decent
lives, home ownership, and financial stability. It constitutes about 35% of the labor force, with some
overlapping with the middle class by household income, which sometimes reaches the low six figures. At the lower end, there is overlap with the working poor.
to reshape the economy toward the creation of good jobs. We need to see wages rising and productivity rising. “These jobs are for people with a wide range of apti-
tudes. But there should be less focus on tech, media, and investment. “We need manufacturing, because people can’t just cut
each other’s hair. You can’t just have services.” Cass supports tariffs. “They will change the incentives
and business calculations of companies that make stuff. They’ll be more inclined to make things here because it won’t be cheaper to manufacture in China.” He argues for regulatory reform for oil and gas as well as
there and work hard and play by the rules, you can support a family on your wage.” He sees that as a key pro-family policy, and “we need to
move real pro-labor legislation on a bipartisan basis, and get it enacted into law.” Considering that only 7% of the private workforce is in unions, that’s interesting. Henry Olsen, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public
Policy Center and author of The Working Class Republican: Ronald Reagan and the Return of Blue-Collar Conservatism, believes that a tight labor market from limiting illegal migration is the most important solution. Also tariffs, which will reshore manufacturing but have
a time lag, since it takes a few years to build factories. He speculates that Trump won’t make “significant
changes in entitlement programs that the working class depends on. No rise in age for Social Security, no big changes to Medicare. “There will be some change to the child credit. That
credit was $2,000 per year in 2017. To have the same buy- ing power, it would need to be $2,500 per year now.” Olsen also expects that Trump will create apprentice-
ship training programs and funding for trade schools. We currently spend $200 billion a year helping students in four-year colleges, which have a high dropout rate. Time to pour resources into preparing young people who are head- ing into new industries and the trades. As the American Compass website notes: “Good and
dignified jobs that allow workers to support their families and communities are not a hoped-for by-product of a healthy economy, they are its purpose.”
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