Comment by rayiner

I wonder how much of contemporary Democratic politics is driven by insane rents in NYC and SF. The party has seen an influx of core Reagan voters—everyone from Wall Street bankers to Silicon Valley engineers (Reagan won Santa Clara County by 17 points in 1984). These affluent, highly educated folks have adopted the narratives and politics of the working class, juxtaposed against a ever-more-narrowly-defined “elite.” And it’s not the Kennedy-esque “noblesse oblige” that’s been a historical pattern. These folks don’t just express concern for the working class, but identify with them and are angry about the economic system. And I have no idea how to explain that, except they’re paying $5,000 a month for a cramped little apartment in NYC or SF, and feel like victims of the economic system rather than the winners.