Even though government and industry declare oil jobs the solution to Louisiana’s economic woes, Mike’s oil job brought him no economic advancement and undermined his American Dream. After a lifetime of hard work, capitalism gave Mike little by way of reward, while people around him got rich suddenly and seemingly at random before turning around and calling
him an eyesore. His disdain for the rich is a response to his structural squeeze, and it is a response he shares with the progressive left rather than his fellow Tea Party voters.