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174 Chapter 6 The White Electorate: The White Working Class, Religious Conservatives, Professionals, and the Disengaged [If a group of people have less economically than others, is it fair for them to expect the government to help them?] Graphic designer from Tennessee (G520 TN M WC): “No, it is not the government ’s job. The government is not there to be our babysitters. The government is there to run the infrastructure of the country and that is it. . . . They end up looking at the government as kind of like the omnipotent parent . . . . It costs all the rest of us money, and it breeds weak people. . . . All it does is encourage them to keep doing it, and they’re completely nonproductive members of society.” Health care executive from Tennessee (G521 TN F MC): “As a community . . . we have a right to expect that people should not have to go without food, clothing, and housing, and some level of health care. . . . I don’t know that it should be to the government as much as I think, I do believe to some extent I am my brother’s keeper. So to that extent I think the government has a responsibility.” T he contrasting political views of these two Tennessee interviewees set the boundaries for the political differences among the interviewees in this study. The graphic designer felt that the government providing help for the poor just makes them weak and encourages irresponsibility, while the health care executive thought of the poor as members of the community with whom those who have the means to do so should share their resources. The economic circumstances of these two people were very different, and that seemed to have affected their political views. One might think that the health care executive who had more income and resources would not want the government to address DiTomaso.indb 174 12/12/2012 7:29:00 AM The White Electorate 175 inequality, perhaps for fear that government policies would undermine her favorable situation. Further, one might think that the graphic designer who was more vulnerable economically would welcome government attention to issues of inequality, with the expectation that he might need such help someday. In this study—and consistent with current political trends—we find just the opposite. I categorized the graphic designer as a working-class “racist,” while the health care executive is one of the rich white liberals. Those with marketable skills and access to extensive social networks seem to adopt more liberal politics. Those who have to compete for jobs with less education or skills, and probably with social networks that are less dense or valuable, are more cautious about politics and especially want to hold the line against the government getting involved in decisions about whom employers can hire or reward. I interpret the views expressed by liberals like the health care executive as reflecting the hope that things will be right in the world, albeit often outside the confines of their own neighborhoods. I interpret the attitude of working-class conservatives like the graphic designer as not wanting anything to interfere with their ability to get help from their friends and family members when it comes to getting a job.1 Jobs were a constant theme in the political views expressed by the respondents . Jobs are key to the kind of life one is able to live. The interviewees espoused the value of hard work, believed that they themselves had attained their life goals because of their own hard work, and formed judgments about others on the basis of their perception of how hard they worked. Having a job is imperative for a good life, according to the interviewees , and having a good job—defined as one offering benefits (medical insurance, a pension, and other aspects of a safety net) and paying a salary that allows one to live comfortably and have a little extra after the bills are paid—made the difference in the kind of life that they could hope for and in what they could offer to their children and family members . Some of the respondents were concerned about public policy and paid attention to the news media and to what was going on among politicians , while others focused on their own lives and left the powersthat -be alone to do whatever they would. When asked to comment on broad policy areas and to reflect on their preferences and their interpretations of political events, the respondents’ comments reaffirmed their belief in...

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