Hillbilly Elegy, by J. D. Vance: on Government Reform

JD Vance: Politicians and even lobbyists are not all crooks

He was a good man, and I liked his politics, so when constituents called and complained, I tried to explain his positions. I watched lobbyists come and go and overheard the senator and his staff debate whether a particular bill was good for his constituents, good for his state, or good for both. Observing the political process from the inside made me appreciate it in a way that watching cable news never had. [My grandmother] Mamaw had thought all politicians were crooks, but I learned that, no matter their politics, that was largely untrue at the Ohio Statehouse.

JD Vance: No government solutions; stop blaming faceless companies

Set aside the anti-government bromides. There is a more sinister thesis at work here, one that dovetails with many liberal views of Appalachia and its problems. Vance assures readers that an emphasis on Appalachia's economic insecurity is "incomplete" without a critical examination of its culture. His great takeaway from life in America's underclass is: Pull up those bootstraps. Don't question elites. Don't ask if they erred by granting people mortgages and lines of credit they couldn't afford to repay. Don't call it what it is--corporate deception--or admit that it plunged this country into one of the worst economic crises it's ever experienced.

JD Vance: We can change social norms, like cultural flip on smoking

At the same time, the hostility between the working class and the elites is so great that there will always be some wariness toward those who go to the other side. And can you blame them? A lot of these people know nothing but judgment and condescension from those with power, and the thought of their children acquiring that same hostility is noxious.