High school students' exploration of class differences in a multicultural literature class

One of the interesting political developments since the 1980s is the degree to which white working-class people, particularly males, are voting and registering as Republicans. White working-class males continue to identify with the Republican Party despite the fact that conservative Republican economic policies have resulted in no mean wage increase since the 1970s; large-scale reductions in well-paying manufacturing jobs; downturns in union memberships; and increased concentration of wealth, resulting in a disparity in income gaps between rich and poor, lack of affordable health care, cuts in benefits/retirements, and increasing tuition for higher education necessary for many jobs (Frank, 2004).