One Third of Manufacturing Workers Need Public Assistance

Another indicator of the source of Trump's, and to some extent, Sanders' support comes from data released by the University of California, Berkeley, showing that over a third of manufacturing wage earners in this country relied on some form of public assistance even as they were employed. Increased competition in manufacturing from global competitors has not only shrunk the manufacturing sector by over one third since the 1970s but has also put downward pressure on wages here in the United States. Added to that, the rise in the use of temporary workers since the collapse of unions has also made it easier to keep wages depressed.  As we have discussed before, none of these elements were inevitable - they were the result of deliberate policy choices. Trade deals protected white collar jobs at the expense of blue collar workers and the resulting breakdown in the bargaining and political power of workers enabled profits to flow to shareholders and management.