Forward to the Past and the Early Industrial Age

Donald, a fifty-five-year-old white male, is a perfect example of a Struggler. A finance professional for more than twenty years, he was “eliminated” in early 2008, on the cusp of the Great Recession. “I went up to HR [human resources] for a meeting and I was out the door. I never even got to go downstairs to say good-bye to my coworkers,” he said. “Everything went south, and I have not been able to find full-time work since. . . . I’ve had various jobs. Six months at [a major bank], nine months at [an educational nonprofit], six months at