U.S. · White House · Democrats · Fortune Technology
They cut the dining out first
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For many of Americans, simply existing has been the most expensive line item they’ve had, and they have pessimistic views of it ever improving.
Key facts
- They over-index as working class (35% vs. 33% overall) and lower income, with 64% earning under $75,000 a year
- Its worst scores came on housing affordability (–59 net), Social Security and Medicare (–53), wages (–53), and healthcare access (–51)
- And this is not a MAGA story: 43% of the disillusioned identify as Democrats, 29% as independents and 25% Republican
- Across all groups, survey respondents said policies help wealthy people (+60 net), billionaires (+57), and corporations (+54)—while hurting low-income people (–26), young people (–20), and the middle
Summary
They cut the dining out first. Nearly a third of American voters are living some version of this story. What the poll cannot capture is the exhaustion driving those beliefs. Eighty-five percent of them are financially worried, more than any other group surveyed. The Roosevelt Institute is interested in what this means for the political future of the country, but this story is at root an economic one—and it has been building for a long time. Start with who they are not: they’re not primarily rural; not overwhelmingly conservative; not the caricature of the forgotten white working-class voter that pundits have been recycling since 2016.