Jonah, you’re right. That’s an important piece , and this is the most important passage:
“The sharply increased social and geographic mobility of the 1870′s set people adrift from traditional sources of security in families and villages. In our own day, the destruction of employer-employee relationships, the erosion of pension protection and employee health insurance may be creating a similar loss of moorings. If one counts only the size of houses and cars, and the numbers of electronic gadgets stuffed into rec rooms, Americans are probably better off than ever before. But as the 1870′s suggest, economic well-being doesn’t come just from piling up toys. An economy has psychological or, if you will, spiritual, dimensions. A conviction of fairness, a feeling of not being totally on one’s own, a sense of reasonable stability and predictability are all essential components of good economic performance. “
If you want to know why the President/GOP are not getting more political credit for the country’s strong economic performance, this is a big part of it.