The 2016 election season has been a very unpredictable episode in American History. From the rise of political outsiders like Donald Trump on the right and a self described democratic socialist on the left, Americans have sent a crystal and clear message. They are angry at the political establishment.
The BBC News has an excellent article about our current political climate. Written by Vanessa Barford, it goes into depth about what may be fueling the anger. Barford goes into greater and specific details about issues such as the economy, immigration, the gridlock in Washington and America's standing in the world.
She argues that economically, Americans are feeling a tight squeeze in their wallets. Although the unemployment rate may be much lower than the great recession of 2008, wages have stagnated and the quality of jobs are not that great. Household incomes have, generally speaking, been stagnant for 15 years. In 2014, the median household income was 53,657, compared with 57,357 in 2007 and 57,843 in 1999 (adjusted for inflation)
Because of this reality, people on the left are blaming billionaires, banks and Wall Street and on the right the villains are immigrants and other countries like China and Mexico taking advantage of the United States.
I think this is a great article because whatever your political ideology is, it argues that the root cause of the anger is the same. Our political system is doing a poor job at representing the people and elected officials are more interested in pleasing donors and special interests. Therefore, Americans are more interested in candidates who say will fix the system and get things done.
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