Few were paying attention. I think Al Gore invented the Internet circa 1990. Well, Al didn't invent it, but as the Cold War ended, the Internet became ubiquitous, and everything began to change. At an increasing pace.

So that comfortable assembly line job for life which I thought I could pass down to my kid started becoming less and less comfortable. People shop online instead of going to stores. Remember the Bern's support for the striking Verizon landline workers? I loved that - my liberal SF niece marched with them. I remember asking her if she had a landline. Of course she didn't. Just a cell phone. I asked her is she was marching against herself.

Changing times, probably as profound as any in American history, provide the real reason for the problem. Changing administrations just provide scapegoats. Of course Al Gore didn't invent the Internet. But also no politician mapped out all the changes that made less education equal ever increasing misery.