Definitely agree, James.

I currently live in Alberta, where working on the Oil Sands can absolutely get you the kind of wage your father earned while you were a child. However, I fully appreciate this type of trades-based economic hub is an anomaly in North America: albeit one that is also in decline.

My fear is that as the working class's "slice of the pie" gets smaller, their frustrations will be manipulated for another political cause. This is I believe - at least in part - what we are seeing now.

Losing your livelihood, respect, and community would absolutely piss someone off. All it then takes is for one person to say, "here's who's fault it is…" and they'll have almost total control over that discontent. Especially if no one else is even acknowledging it!

In truth, the processes that have led to the reduced need for manual labour are massively complicated. Not beyond comprehension, but definitely not as simple as 'Democrats don't care about your jobs'. I just hope that as we adjust, we can still find a place for the invaluable skills demographics like these have. Otherwise we risk losing not only these skills, but also their support.