I know I really shouldn't do this...
Back in the 70's the U.S. got hit hard with the oil embargo. Under Carter the economy tanked even worse than it had been before. (The economy was already on the rocks, like it or not.) Carter was incapable of doing anything about it so we elect Reagan. His trickle down theory didn't trickle all that far, as people are greedy. (And I don't mean rich people I mean all of us.) Still the rich had more money to spend on stuff and investors had portfolios full of companies rapidly out-sourcing jobs, but the money was great. Even car companies prospered as they closed U.S. plants slowly. And as the number of union workers shrunk they did even better but there was bound to be a tipping point. But we couldn't see it coming. Clinton brought a "balanced budget." Easy to do with all the foreign capital flowing in and banks issuing more and more questionable loans. For as long as it all held up the average citizen would feel more and more comfortable. They invested in 401 K's and year after year those assets kept growing and growing. All was well. The lower end of the economy didn't see that happening. They saw the manual labor jobs they were qualified for stagnate and worse, even lower in value, as we imported more and more labor for jobs americans "wouldn't" do. As time wore on and the promises of each politician became less and less believable they began to grow bitter and angrier. Even seeing the chronically un-employed do better than them. These were not america-haters, they loved their country. Many of them had parents and grand-parents who'd fought for their country. Slowly their anger turned to the self serving politicians. The rich who promised better times but never delivered. When the conservatives went down the same old road that they said the liberals were on a few of them even voted liberal. The thinking being, "hey, at least they're up-front about it. Maybe they'll shake the conservatives from their sleep and they'll start helping us for a change." Didn't happen.

And now for the answer to all our problems. The answer that will bring america back into a country where hard work and sacrifice will give a man the chance to work himself up to middle class...

I got nothin'.