For years, we’ve been told that the Democratic Party is the party of the working class. Democrats have traditionally been associated with the workers' unions and government programs that are aimed at assisting middle- to low-income families. I would submit to you that this association is built on faulty ground.
Democratic elected officials in Washington have made a few major policy decisions that have had tremendous negative effects on middle-to low-income families.
First, former Presidents Clinton and Obama spent their presidential terms negotiating trade agreements that transferred American jobs to countries far away. This has left our manufacturing sector decimated with empty factories across America. Former President Trump did much to restore American manufacturing jobs by renegotiating trade agreements. Now, President Biden is doing everything in his power to reverse the Trump-era policies. Negotiating unfair trade agreements that open the door for foreign countries to produce and import materials cheaper than American factories ultimately hurts blue-collar workers. American companies ended up relocating their manufacturing facilities overseas, in the name of saving said company money, while their American workers got laid off. This is the story of millions of blue-collar American workers in recent decades.
Second, Democratic policymakers decided in the 1960s under President Lyndon B. Johnson that it was the role of the government to help anyone in need, no matter what. As a result, Congress implemented much of what President Johnson billed the Great Society, a series of social welfare programs that birthed what we now know as the welfare state – a state where anyone who is in need, no matter the context, will receive aid from the federal government with little accountability in return. While some of these policies have obviously aided Americans who are in genuine need of short-term assistance, most have created this mass of government programs that often discourage work instead of encouraging unemployed Americans to find work. Democratic politicians have created an entire generation that relies heavily on the government for their next meal. Work is dignifying, and when government policy discourages work, it deprives certain individuals of that dignity.
As a result, we now have what is known as generational poverty induced by our own federal government – all in the name of helping people.
And lastly, because of illegal immigration – which has been permitted by our very own government for decades – millions of blue-collar jobs have been taken by illegal aliens. Therefore, Americans who would typically have these jobs are now without work. Another result of illegal immigration is stagnant wages for American blue-collar workers because companies can pay illegal immigrants less than they have to pay an American citizen.
The Democratic Party isn’t the party of the working class. Instead, Democrats have instituted policies that aid other countries and encourage unemployment. We need policymakers that put America first, aid American workers, and incentivize companies that invest in the American economy. This is what’s best for my fellow Americans.
(Editor's Note: This article first appeared HERE)
