The consequences of inflation had been decades in the making. Thirty years of neoliberal policies and fifty plus years of stagnation on real wages is now paying its dues, because real wages has not kept up with ever rising inflation. The working class is certainly the most affected and even experienced lower growth in real wage. While not the sole problem, it contributes to radicalising a population. The US and other parts of the word had it coming because of said policies. Prices of less valuable consumer goods have gone down, but the basic essentials and health care keeps going up and up. That being said, the overall inflation has decreased since the pandemic but basic essentials has not. Those with higher income may not feel the pinch, but the working class and many in the lower middle class certainly does. These people are brainwashed and hoodwinked to blame the wrong people like immigrants, minorities and lgbt, while the monied class gets away with it.

“If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll empty his pockets for you.”- Lyndon B. Johnson

It’s not Trump apologism-- it’s reality check. The left and liberals should get out of their bubble, because they are doing the inverse of being hoodwinked by convincing them to look down on the working class as well. Who are the ones constantly blocking affordable housing in the liberal-bastion that is California? That’s right, it’s the liberals themselves, who are also rich like many conservatives are. You could easily Google the information on that one if you don’t believe me. Are you also aware that California put anti-homeless spikes and other deterents on areas where the vagabonds sleep? I’m sure many of those homeless folks came from poorer states to look for a job in California; but the lack of affordable housing and being unable to find a job with decent pay to afford rent renders them vulnerable. They did what many told them to do: move out of their shithole places and go to where there is opportunity, right?

The podcast I refered to is in my native language which is hosted by a highly-esteemed professor and political analyst who has been invited by international news outlets for interviews including The Guardian, BBC, ABC, and Al Jazeera. He is a social democrat but a critic of those from the affluent section of the left and liberals who keep putting down the working-class. Slavoj Zizek also made the same broad observation about the left and liberals-- that there is a certain naïveté among the group.

This isn’t being apologetic for Trump-- it is a wakeup call for the left, whose former base is the working-class but is now subsumed by the far-right (liberals in the classical sense have hardly been reliable as class-ally), to be aware of the blindspot and close that narrow gap of a spot. Yes, one can keep calling the working-class racist or bigoted, but they are the ones who have once voted for the left but now keep voting far-right. It is worth pointing out you seem to refuse to acknowledge that. Look around you. Look outside your home, outside your town, outside of your state, and outside of your country, the working class used to vote for the left but what happened? Look around and ask yourself that question and you will find your answer. There is no longer a version of penny auction in this generation. As in, there is no longer a class-solidarity that existed during the Depression era. The affluent today show concerns for the homeless and less fortunate, but when it is time for call to action, there is little appetite to approve alleviating the cost of living and housing crisis, and consign the working class as dumb and bigots, instead of realising these have been brainwashed to scapegoat the innocent.

Going to the Harris promise, I admire the promise to build 3 million homes but the $25,000 downpayment to buy a house as government assistance isn’t exactly appealing considering how much the average American house prices are these days. Trump promised no taxes on tips and then Harris simply copied it. Why not increase the federal wage instead? Oh that’s right, the Democratic party is in actuality a spineless center-right party who don’t want to rub their rich donors the wrong way. Unfortunately, Trump promised to re-energise the dying fossil fuel industry, which appeals to the working-class. But what have the Democrats promised as alternative in the former blue wall to dis-incentivise working in the fossil fuel industry? What have the Democrats promised to replace the old manufacturing jobs with? Can you really blame the working class for siding the Republicans with promise of re-shoring more jobs and putting tariffs on imports?

There needs to be another Roosevelt who has the spine to stand up and not be afraid of monied interests, despite coming from old money itself. Again, there is no class solidarity nowadays. The liberals and left indeed abandoned the working-class.