The spirit of the working class is crushed. So argues Batya Ungar-Sargon in her new book Second Class: How the Elites Betrayed America's Working Men and Women. Batya says that working men and women in the United States have been abandoned by both political parties and left to fend for themselves, all while unchecked immigration makes an already challenging job market untenable. As her title suggests, she believes “elites” are causing this problem.
And though you hear the word used more often and somewhat scornfully on Fox News, “elites” doesn’t just mean progressives. It’s all of us who are educated, have stable jobs, and aren’t worried about making rent next month. But just because Batya uses the word doesn't mean her main argument—that unchecked immigration is making life untenable for working Americans—is wrong. At the very least, it is inarguable that immigration is putting a strain on our housing, educational, and medical infrastructure. And all of us foot the bill for that.
What’s really odd about this to me is, despite the fact that Batya defends Donald Trump as a friend of the working people, the policies she recommends to fix the problem feel like Democratic policies from an earlier time. Unions, tariffs - that sort of thing. Whichever side they’re from, she is passionate about the importance of a thriving middle class for a stable democracy.
Batya is The Opinion Editor at Newsweek. She holds a BA from the University of Chicago and earned her PhD at UC, Berkeley. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Foreign Policy, The New York Times, The Daily Beast, and The Free Press.
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About Paul Ollinger
After working as one of Facebook’s first 250 employees, Paul retired from the corporate world at 42, only to find himself bored, lonely, and driving his wife crazy. Today, he’s a standup comic, captivating audiences with his unique blend of humor and insight, performing alongside a diverse group of comedy powerhouses and iconic musicians, including Norm Macdonald, Dave Attell, Chelsea Handler, Styx, and Collective Soul.
In 2019, Paul started this podcast, *Crazy Money*, to explore the connection between money, happiness, work, and meaning. In one-on-one conversations with some of the world's most interesting people, he helps uncover the true sources of happiness in life and what wealth, success, and fame can (and can't) do for us. Previous guests include LL COOL J, Judd Apatow, Moby, and winners of the Nobel Prize, Heisman Trophy, PGA Championship, and Olympic gold medals.
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