"Working-class"/rural/blue-collar whites and the Republican Party... (cost, dollar)

[AllenSJC]

A lot has been written about working-class and/or rural white Americans trending Republican in recent election cycles.

However, some things to keep in mind: Some commentators have used "Working class whites" as a stand-in for "White high school graduates without a four-year college degree." By that definition, Bill Gates and many other wealthy people are "Working-class."

I imagine that for white people without a college degree, the numbers for the GOP are skewed by the wealthier individuals within that demographic-especially when you consider that there are many wealthier individuals within "red states" who are self-employed (or were, before they retired-if they are older) in industries like construction, mining, oil and natural gas, etc....industries that are heavily labor-intensive, have a "blue-collar" association to them, and don't necessarily require a great deal of formal education.

Also, regarding wealthy people in different areas...the top 1% of people in terms of income and/or wealth in any one of many rural counties in, say, Texas, West Virginia, or Kansas will probably not be nearly as wealthy (as a group) as the top 1% in Manhattan or San Francisco. In other words, the threshold for "wealthy" is lower in those rural conservative areas than in the heavily Democratic major cities and metropolises.

Finally, "rural", "blue-collar", and "working-class" are not the same thing, of course.

[sol11]

Originally Posted by AllenSJC

A lot has been written about working-class and/or rural white Americans trending Republican in recent election cycles.

However, some things to keep in mind: Some commentators have used "Working class whites" as a stand-in for "White high school graduates without a four-year college degree." By that definition, Bill Gates and many other wealthy people are "Working-class."

I imagine that for white people without a college degree, the numbers for the GOP are skewed by the wealthier individuals within that demographic-especially when you consider that there are many wealthier individuals within "red states" who are self-employed (or were, before they retired-if they are older) in industries like construction, mining, oil and natural gas, etc....industries that are heavily labor-intensive, have a "blue-collar" association to them, and don't necessarily require a great deal of formal education.

Also, regarding wealthy people in different areas...the top 1% of people in terms of income and/or wealth in any one of many rural counties in, say, Texas, West Virginia, or Kansas will probably not be nearly as wealthy (as a group) as the top 1% in Manhattan or San Francisco. In other words, the threshold for "wealthy" is lower in those rural conservative areas than in the heavily Democratic major cities and metropolises.

Finally, "rural", "blue-collar", and "working-class" are not the same thing, of course.

So money is worth less in rural areas than urban areas,,,i.e.,...a million dollar net worth in rural Kansas is not as wealthy as a million dollar net worth in Manhattan? Seems to me you may have it ass-backwards.

Seems the cost of housing and living in the metropolitan areas is probably higher than the rural areas you mentioned.

[AllenSJC]

Originally Posted by sol11

So money is worth less in rural areas than urban areas,,,i.e.,...a million dollar net worth in rural Kansas is not as wealthy as a million dollar net worth in Manhattan? Seems to me you may have it ass-backwards.

Seems the cost of housing and living in the metropolitan areas is probably higher than the rural areas you mentioned.

Except I didn't say that-what I basically said is that there are more really wealthy people in Manhattan than rural Kansas, the median and per capita income levels are higher in Manhattan, so the threshold of "top 1%" or "top 20%" in terms of income and wealth is lower in rural Kansas than in Manhattan.

Think of it this way-how wealthy is someone who makes $200k but lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, relative to his or her neighbors? How wealthy is that same person (with the same income) in rural Kansas, relative to his or her neighbors?