For the past 30 years or so, the Left has invented a narrative that there are two Americas: a group of very super-rich people (the one-percenters) who have prospered over the past several decades, and everyone else who has gotten poorer. It’s a fairy-tale narrative because almost all Americans have seen financial progress. The median household income adjusted for inflation rose by more than 40% since 1984.

Prosperity isn’t an “us vs. them” zero-sum game. A rising tide really does lift all boats.

But there really are two Americas today. First, there are the cultural and overeducated snobs — the kind of people who religiously read The New York Times, drive electric vehicles, wear Harvard or Yale sweaters, and have never even heard of NASCAR or eaten at Popeyes or ridden a John Deere tractor.

Updated: Tue Jan 23, 2024