Working-Class Abundance

Creating the foundations for stable and secure families across the entire United States.

If you want abundance, vote Republican or move to a red state. That’s the difficult political reality facing the well-intended proponents of the abundance policy movement, a network of creative thinkers organized around the basic principle: “To have the future we want, we need to build and invent more of what we need.”

Why? It’s simple, really. Because abundance in the eyes of its center-left ideological champions is almost entirely an urban, blue-state project with an excessive focus on climate change and housing issues in places like New York and California, while abundance in the eyes of regular working-class Americans is something you find in places like Texas and Florida (or other Midwestern and Southern states) with lots of work, more room to build, and a relatively affordable cost of living.

The Liberal Patriot was an early adopter of abundance movement ideas and political framing. TLP called for Democrats to embrace abundance back in 2022 with pro-growth policies, all-of-the-above energy approaches, and reductions in regional inequality—several years before the publication of the excellent and much-discussed treatise of the same name by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. So, within the family, here’s a constructive criticism that is not of the dismissive kind put forth by the anti-monopoly, “populist” opponents of abundance: politically speaking, abundance is too much of an elite project, not a working-class one.

In some ways, this limited focus is a strength of the movement. Blue states and Democratic-controlled urban areas desperately need the kind of reforms outlined by the abundance movement to help improve economic opportunities and the quality of life for all people in cities and towns where there is little to no political competition. It is too hard to build new housing and energy projects in blue states. There is too much traffic and not enough reliable public transport in big cities. Excessive crime and homelessness are serious problems in nearly all these blue-run jurisdictions.

If more reform-minded Democrats, independents, and even urban Republicans want to fight it out in elections over who will best implement abundance policies to help fix America’s great cities—go for it! It can only improve things for more people living in these areas.

As the Klein and Thompson book highlights, along with work from other abundance-aligned think tanks and organizations, blue states and cities have hobbled themselves through a tangle of regulatory hurdles, interest group demands, and “NIMBY” attitudes that make it exceptionally difficult to build anything (housing, new transportation, better energy infrastructure) that would allow more working- and middle-class families to get by and get ahead.

Red states, by and large, do not have these same problems. It’s true that Republicans at the federal level are much less supportive of the national investment and industrial policy arguments of the abundance movement. But in general, if your goal is to build and invent more—and help more Americans afford a decent life—your best bet currently is to set up shop in low-tax, low-regulation red American states across the South, Midwest, and Sunbelt regions. Blue states talk about abundance while red states carry it out.

How might center-left and Democratic forces create a true working-class abundance movement across all states, akin to the successful model of FDR’s New Deal that appealed broadly to these voters? Here is a three-part framework for consideration:

Abundance means good jobs for all American workers with family-supporting incomes. Nothing matters more to the success of America’s working- and middle-class families than the ability of one or both parents to earn enough income annually, through wages, salaries, or small business revenues, to take care of their families. This requires robust growth of American businesses and smaller enterprises across all regions of the country. Whatever is holding back growth (regulations, lawsuits, NIMBY-ism, concentrated corporate power, or high property and other taxes) should be removed. Whatever encourages higher growth and regional equality (solid infrastructure, better training and educational opportunities, cheap energy, and investments in key national industries) should be pursued. That’s the main economic agenda.

Abundance means basic family stability and security. Economic growth is not an end in itself—it is the means for producing the jobs, wages, and benefits that will allow more Americans to live the best lives they possibly can. A high quality of life for working- and middle-class families requires reasonable housing costs in safe neighborhoods with good schools and affordable college access, if desired. Family security also requires affordable health care and the ability to save some money for emergencies and retirement. That’s the main family agenda.

Abundance means more working-class Americans can enjoy their lives and not be constantly anxious about their finances. Good jobs, stable families, and secure neighborhoods are all things that contribute to the ultimate American Dream of not having to constantly fret about money. Most working- and middle-class families aren’t looking for riches. They don’t want anything extravagant. Sure, most people would like the ability to take a family vacation each year or maybe purchase a new car or do some home improvements. But most of all, working- and middle-class Americans yearn to escape the anxiety of not being able to pay their ever-rising stack of monthly bills and avoid incurring serious debt for housing, medical care, and education expenses. That’s the main “peace of mind” agenda.

Abundance policies alone can’t solve all the financial difficulties of working-class America. Governments and private businesses—at all levels—will need to work cooperatively to help drive economic growth and new investments that can make these policy ideas a reality.

But “working-class abundance” can provide a vision for public policy development that is better aligned with the goals, aspirations, and values of regular American families—a critical need for any successful political movement or party.

So, let's create abundance for everyone, not just the elites, in the spirit of building and inventing more for America!