Kerby Anderson

Batya Ungar-Sargon is the deputy opinion editor of Newsweek and is getting lots of attention for her recent book, Second Class: How the Elites Betrayed America’s Working Men and Women. In her book, she explains the plight of people who live and work on the opposite end of our social ladder.

She is unusual among the establishment media because she is willing to interview people in the working class and thus tell the story of class differences in America. Her book destroys the elitist idea that these hard-working people are angry, radical, and illiterate.

One of the most significant problems the working-class face is what can be called “excessive credentialism.” More and more jobs require a college degree when it is rarely necessary to perform well.  Working class people without a degree are thus unable to pursue a career that will give them social mobility and financial security.

She calls that the “diploma glass ceiling.” They deserve a chance at a job but are overlooked when a management position opens. To make matters worse, they sometimes find themselves training a college graduate with less aptitude and experience.

Their economic hardships are made worse by the sneering mindset of American elites who often paint them as racist and intolerant. Wokeness, she argues, is often an attack on the working class. It merely serves to demoralize people further down the social ladder while making those at the top feel virtuous and superior.

It’s worth noting that President Trump in 2020 signed an executive order to revise the qualifications for government jobs from a college degree to relevant experience. We need more reforms that will switch emphasis from degree-based hiring to merit-based hiring.