I’ve been in situations where I’ve come home to find my utilities turned off. Where I
didn’t have money to pay for health care and, even worse, had to go to a dental clinic
where student dentists botched my root canal—and then their efforts to fix their mistakes
made it even worse. I have written checks and then scrambled to figure out how to cover
them before they bounced. But I was fortunate: I only had to take care of myself. I didn’t
have to worry about a spouse or children or providing for others in my family. I was able
to move to Dallas, living with five roommates in a three-bedroom apartment, and get a
bartending job at night and a sales job during the day, which allowed me to get my head
above water.
Today, most people don’t have the luxury of mobility. They are reluctant to move for a
better job because that’s very risky in their world. They stick close to home because a
small network of family and friends they’ve known forever sustains them both
economically and emotionally. That network provides child care, elder care, help fixing
the car—necessities of life they can’t take for granted. Equally important, that network
offers blue-collar families something not on offer from their less-than-prestigious jobs:
respect.
I’ve been at the top, among the 1 percent that are truly financially blessed. And I’ve been
at the bottom. Broke. Scrambling to make ends meet.
Anyone who’s willing to get up every day, and show up and work hard—that person has
my respect. Disrespect breeds anger, and anger distorts politics. Treating working-class
people with the respect they deserve is not a partisan issue. Making sure that hard work
pays off in America is not a partisan issue.
Our politics are being driven by middle-class people’s fear of falling into poverty. We
need to stop scolding people for being afraid, or for expressing their fears the wrong way.
We need to listen to them. In this book, Joan Williams does just that. She gives a voice to
those who get up every day and do their best, and she lets them explain how American
politics got to where it is today.
Their voices will open your eyes—and hopefully your heart and mind as well.
Mark Cuban
Foreword