Inequality in the United States is higher now than at any point since the early twentieth century. The broad prosperity of the postwar era has been replaced by deindustrialization, mass layoffs, and the erosion of unions, turbocharged by tax breaks for the wealthy and financial deregulation.
Since the Democratic Party embraced many of the policies that caused these trends, working-class voters have increasingly bolted from the party they feel has abandoned them. This exodus has been especially damaging in Rust Belt counties in states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, which have weathered decades of plant closures, wage stagnation, and elite neglect.
A new study conducted by the Center for Working-Class Politics (CWCP), the Labor Institute, the Labor Education Action Research Network (LEARN), and Jacobin, in partnership with YouGov, asks whether a sharper, bread-and-butter economic populism from progressives can reconnect with disaffected Rust Belt voters. The research surveyed 3,000 voters across Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
The study includes a series of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) testing the impact of different kinds of economic populist messaging. Special attention was paid to a policy with unique salience in deindustrialized regions: a ban on involuntary mass layoffs at firms that receive public funds. The trials also tested whether the effectiveness of these messages changes depending on whether candidates run as Democrats or independents.
The survey included open-ended questions about respondents’ views of the Democratic Party. These were analyzed to understand the key factors driving Rust Belt voters’ negative attitudes toward the party. Another RCT examined the political potential of a…
Auteur: Editors
