[bjhoops1]

I think the answer lies in the history of the collapse of the mid-20th century consensus (capitalist economy with strong unions, regulations, welfare state ad broadly shared prosperity) and the rise of neoliberalism starting in the 1970s.

Neoliberalism seeks to roll back the welfare state, deregulate industry, and - above all else - crush unions. It's an ideology created and propagated by and for the billionaire class, who resented the limits imposed on their power in the mid-20th century, and it captured both political parties by the 1980s.

A couple good articles on the subject, looking at it from both a Republican and Democratic perspective: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/apr/15/neoliberalism-... http://theweek.com/articles/725419/decline-fall-neoliberalis...