Reading way too much about the state of the election campaign I uncovered a glimmer of truth. Many Trump supporters want change in Washington D.C. And even though Trump is campaigning on more trickle down economic and tax cuts for the rich, they believe that an outsider is needed to bring about change in policy that is not working for them. They don't connect the dots between globalization and automation that have lead to their economic stagnation and that trickle down economics will not have any effect on those trends. What Trump does not connect on is breaking trade agreements and disrupting manufacturing doesn't undo the effects of automation or supply chains and he will not be able to help these people with his policies.
I have long written that I don't have a solution, but I know there are think tanks out there with people who understand how policies effect people and there must be some good ideas there.
I can see RedStateVt fuming that I am advocating more income redistribution, but that is not the case. The dependency economy is one of the things that people are angry about, even those who benefit from it and rely upon it. People want to work. Many of the most angry, however, don't want to move to find work.
So there must be something done about job creation and wage stagnation and the distribution of employment around the country. That would involve state policies perhaps more so than federal policies. But something must be done to create hope, because when you don't have hope, you allow a tyrant to stoke fear and gather votes.
Two columns this morning provide insights around this.
David Leonhardt on how stagnation creates anger
David Brooks on the damaged psychological make up of Trump
And just when I thought I could get on with my day, I read the following on how unfit the current GOP is to lead any part of the government.
No Profiles of courage in the GOP
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