What factors have made life so difficult for large swaths of the US population?

Many Trump voters are from the American middle class who mainly live in suburbs. To understand the background of the political moment that is happening due to the presidential election in the US, the podcast “The United States of Anxiety” claims that logic can be found in the dynamics of the suburbs. Even though, their average household income is above the national mean, and the unemployment rate is very low, many people of the middle class feel that America is on the wrong track. 

Kwame Holmes from the University of Boulders explains how the suburbs have evolved. In the 1950s the disaffection towards desegregation caused a campaign by real estate brokers and politicians, pushing parts of the white population to leave the cities and move to the suburbs driven by fear. White families moved from the cities as they wished that their children would grow up in what they thought were safer places. Hence, a white middleclass was created in the idyllic of the suburbs. The middleclass was mostly supportive towards the desegregation, but protected their kids from any touching points in their suburban racial homogenous environment, as Lawrence Levy of Hofstra University states. Over time, the situation in the suburbs has changed. As Levy claims, people have become frustrated not being able to shield their kids anymore from being innocent of racial injustice, due to modern media and constant access to information.

Household income in the US fell during the recessions of 2001 and 2007, in the podcast though it is remarked that household income continued to fall in between these periods. Therefore, the middleclass suffered badly. The interviewed Mrs. Johnson was in tears when she reported that her property taxes in the suburb have increased so much that she can´t even afford to buy a new stove. She has to use social security payments to pay taxes. This economic downfall changed her life drastically. Mrs. Johnson, although apolitical, reflects the thoughts most people of the white middleclass have of Trump: He is promising to get America on the right track again, because his character is good hearted, he cares for the middle class, and he wants to control immigration. Though, Mrs. Johnson feels bad for refugees, she states that “we got to take care of our own”. She sees the biggest problems at home.

To summarize, the factors and fears that bring a change in the identity of the middle class concerning racism and economic wealth, are strongly connected to the sympathy that Trumps election campaign gained by the middle class. Since the middle class fears that their economic wealth is endangered by large scale processes and crises, such as immigration, refugees, and the financial crisis, Trumps promise to “make America great again” touched a sensitive nerve here.

Aaron's Edit: