Working Class White Males Falling Behind ... honestly, is anyone surprised?

Sentier Research, an economics research firm, recently published a study called "Working Class White Males Falling Behind."

The study uses the period from 1996, four years into Bill Clinton's presidency, to 2014, six years into Barack Obama's presidency.

To observe how far "Working Class White Males" have fallen behind in their income, the study looked at men who were between 25 to 44 years old in 1996.

Then the study, jumping ahead 18 years, looked at how much they were earning in 2014. 

So, the 25 year old (from 1996) turned age 43 (in 2014.) 
The 44 year old (from 1996) turned age 62 (in 2014.)

The study states that the men with just high school degrees did not do well over that time period.  Men with college degrees did much, much better.  18 years is a long chunk of time during a man's earning capacity.  Take a look:

In 1996, the working class group, ages 25 to 43, averaged $40,362.

In 2014, they had lost 9 percent of their income to $38,787. 

What about the college degree guys?

"White male college graduates 25 to 44 in 1996 had a comparable income per cohort member amount of $77,209 in 1996.

That figure rose to $94,601 in 2014 (23 percent higher)..."


These are averages, of course.  Beyond the income averages, what does this study really tell us?

Consider that of all the working men I know without college degrees, who are 'white' as the study identifies them, I don't know any who would describe himself as a Working Class White Male. 

What is he really?

He's a guy who works for a living.  He's got a job.  Or he lost his good job and took the next best thing.  Or he's looking while working part time or just waiting because no one will hire him.

He wants things to get better.  Yet, it's easy - and legitimate - to worry.

It's one thing to study and discuss a trend, but it is completely different to live the trend. 

How many of these guys do you know?

They can be found all over the place.  Go ahead, talk to them.  Ask them how they are doing. 

Ask them about their work; about jobs; about their families; about how far their paychecks go; whether someone else in the house works; about how their kids' kids are doing; about their neighborhoods; whether they go to church; about their cars.

Finally, if you do take time to talk to someone in that 'class' of people, decide whether what you see in the media accurately matches how they - Working Class White Males - describe and actually live their lives. 

None of them think of themselves as a statistical category.  Most think of themselves as American.

In this link - http://sentierresearch.com/index.html - you can read the press release about the study, or purchase the study.  

Then think about this 2016 election.  Which party for decades told us they care about the working man?    PB
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