It’s Not Just the Economy, It’s Identity

What We're Getting Wrong About Trade, Work, and Disconnection

We often hear about trade policy, immigration policy, and/or DEI being blamed for America's economic reported malaise. But as Robert Putnam argued in Our Kids nearly a decade ago, the roots of inequality and dislocation run much deeper. The American Dream isn’t just under pressure from global markets—it’s unraveling from within. And sadly, many in politics are misrepresenting the problem for their own political gain.

Official White House Photo of President Trump with Coal Miners on 8 April 2025

(Separate from my piece here is a long form interview between David Brooks and Scott Galloway that goes nearly 45 minutes on many of the same subjects. I found their interview after I wrote this piece. I encourage you to watch their interview before or after you read my essay)

What Putnam Got Right

Putnam identified not only an economic divide but a growing social divide—what he called an “incipient class apartheid.” A generation ago, the difference between “haves” and “have-nots” was mostly financial. Today, it's also about family structure, parenting, education, and civic life. Affluent families are doubling down on their kids—through family dinners, extracurriculars, and community investment—while working-class families, struggling under social and economic strain, are often falling behind in these very same areas.

And that gap has become a political crisis.

Where are the Men?

One of the most alarming trends? The shrinking participation of working-age men in the labor force. This isn't because jobs don’t exist. In fact, even during recent periods of low unemployment, male labor force participation has continued to fall. According to Harvard’s Jason Furman, and researchers like Richard Reeves and Raj Chetty, this decline is less about economics and more about identity, education, and place.

Men—especially those without a college degree—have been exiting the workforce for decades. Many aren’t stepping into caregiving or civic roles– they’re just not working. Instead, we’ve seen a surge in deaths of despair: suicide, overdose, and alcoholism. And not coincidentally, the counties hardest hit by this trend are the same ones that swung hardest toward Donald Trump—many after decades of voting Democrat.

Trump has given voice to a real pain—but by blaming it on trade, immigration, and DEI, he’s oversimplifying a complex and deeply rooted problem. It’s easier to point the finger outward than to confront the erosion of male identity, economic belonging, and social scaffolding at home. And in that vacuum, politics has shifted from opportunity to grievance. If we don’t correctly diagnose it, the problem will get worse. The institutions they were told would serve them—education, government, corporate employers—feel more like a fragile china shop that’s done nothing for them. So they don’t care if it all gets smashed.

Soundbites vs Substance

And many on the left fall into the trap of fighting the White House on their policies around trade, immigration, and DEI because Trump fights in sound bites and the left has not yet figured out the sounds bites to explain their side or policy distinction.

Many working-age white male Trump voters now treat politics more like protest or performance than a vehicle for change. In their eyes, the government no longer works for them—it’s something to be torn down. The traditional pipelines to purpose and stability—union jobs, military service, small-town economies—no longer exist or feel deliberately dismantled. Layered on top is the narrative of male victimhood, like Trump’s 2018 comment during the #MeToo movement that it was “a scary time for boys.” That framing resonated with some, despite the overwhelming reality that sexual assault is vastly underreported and false accusations are exceedingly rare compared the much larger number of actual women and girls being attacked sexually.

A Dangerous Drift

This isn’t about excusing grievance politics or restoring an old order. It’s about recognizing that when opportunity collapses—regardless of gender or race—resentment can become a dangerous political force. We ignore it at our peril.

Progressives often underestimate how their own rhetoric can deepen this alienation, unintentionally pushing people further away. These men weren’t “pushed” to Trump; many gravitated there—especially in counties that historically voted Democrat.

Yes, this newsletter has focused largely on the plight of working-class white men—but not because their challenges matter more. Rather, because their growing political disillusionment is reshaping our national trajectory. The same disconnection from systems—education, work, civic trust—exists across racial and gender lines and needs to be addressed with the same urgency. As one USTomorrow reader suggested, perhaps time to seriously visit the European model of three academic tracks for students—general, technological, and vocational.

Two Things Can Be True

A recent Harvard Magazine article paints a sobering picture: men are falling behind in education, mental health, and social connectedness. Boys from low-income families are especially vulnerable—something Putnam also highlighted. Meanwhile, as women rise in education and leadership—a vital and long-overdue transformation—we must also reckon with the crisis of purpose for many young men, particularly those who feel left out of the modern economy. Even more difficult, we have to commute the idea of women catching up in the workforce does not come at the expense of men. In fact, we’re expanding the pie of economic opportunity. (Unless you listen to voices that tell you someone else is to blame for your falling behind).

The Policy Loop of Doom

And the consequences? Cyclical and corrosive. Less male workforce participation leads to fewer intact families, weaker community ties, and more fragmentation. That fragmentation feeds polarization, populist rhetoric, and policy dysfunction—bringing us full circle.

We can’t fix this destructive cycle with tariffs or border walls or dismantling DEI, as Trump proposes. If we’re serious about rebuilding the American Dream, we must invest in education, job training, apprenticeships, and civic reengagement—especially for men who feel discarded by the current system. If we don’t, we’ll continue a dangerous cycle: alienation becomes anger, and anger becomes policy.

Symbolism Isn’t Strategy

Now, I know some readers might say: “It’s been a man’s world for 250 years—why should we care now if they fall behind?” Or, “They should just man up and get to work.”

But here’s the problem: Trump is already seizing that despair and turning it into power. He’s using it to justify dangerous policy choices like chainsaw-styled DOGE cuts, reckless tariffs, and economic nationalism that most serious experts warn against. Treasury Secretary Scott Besent recently told Tucker Carlson, “We are shedding excess labor in the federal government.… That will give us the labor we need for the new manufacturing.” This shift is doing nothing to address those who have already chosen to leave the labor force.

To be clear: we absolutely need to rebuild domestic manufacturing capability in critical sectors—advanced semiconductors, quantum computing, critical minerals, and more. These are national security imperatives. But that doesn’t mean slapping tariffs on consumer goods like cars and clothing. That’s not strategy—that’s symbolism.

In fact, many of the auto jobs that left Detroit didn’t go overseas. They went to the American South, where labor laws are looser and unions are weaker. Those jobs didn’t disappear—they migrated within our own borders.

And even the jobs that do return? Many will go to robots and automation, not humans. We need to stop selling the false promise that manufacturing will bring back millions of low-skill jobs. It won’t. Robots don’t take coffee breaks—and they’re already on the assembly lines.

Restoring the American Dream—for Everyone

What we need is a new era of workforce development. We need to create hands-on, high-skill jobs that provide purpose and belonging. Jobs that restore dignity, not dependency. And we need to rebuild the bridges between community, education, and industry that once held the American Dream together.

As I have said for years, it’s about jobs, education, and our kids’ future. It’s what we all hope for in common. This isn’t just about one demographic. It’s about restoring the American Dream for everyone—Black, white, rural, urban, male, female—through systems that actually deliver on their promise.

Final Thought and Call to Action

Otherwise, we’ll keep repeating the same cycle—and paying the price. Here is my warning to both the GOP and Democrats: To the GOP, no matter how high the wall or steep the Tariffs, you have to recognize the fundamental shift of the workforce or you’ll lose all those new voters. Robots and automation will form most of the new manufacturing workforce. To the Democrats, if you don’t give some grace and acknowledge some of the points made above, you’ll continue to push middle aged working males over to the GOP.

Joseph Kopser

Co-Founder of USTomorrow​

P.S On a personal note, if you know anyone impacted by cuts or layoffs, or anyone you know looking to transition from one stage in life to another please share with them my post.

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