Life at the Edge: Precarity and Economic Insecurity in the Obama Era

Abstract

Purpose

Precarity is a condition that exists when there is little predictability or security with respect to people’s material well-being or psychological welfare. It is a condition that often increases during times of economic uncertainty. But there can be a paradox associated with precarity: the sense of doom can become worse even as objective conditions improve.

Methodology/approach

Using data from the 2006–2012 American National Election Surveys and other sources, this chapter examines precarity and economic insecurity in the United States before and during the Obama era. It provides an overview of patterns that undergird the sense of insecurity by presenting trends in economic well-being before, during, and after the Great Recession.

Findings

The results show that supporters of President Obama were more optimistic about the future. Those who voted for Bush, despite precarity is a racialized, politicized, and partisan condition. It is not simply based on objective conditions. Precarity has far-reaching social effects.

Originality/value

Current perceptions of insecurity are complex and cannot be traced to a single source such as precarity at work. The problem of economic insecurity provides some formidable challenges to policymakers concerned with reducing the waste of human capabilities. Ultimately, the only true solution for precarity is sustained, vigorous economic growth with fairness for all, but how to get there and to get people to believe that such growth is real and sustainable remain a challenge.

Citation

Herring, C., Horton, H.D. and Thomas, M. (2015), "Life at the Edge: Precarity and Economic Insecurity in the Obama Era", Race in the Age of Obama: Part 2 (Research in Race and Ethnic Relations, Vol. 19), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 125-143. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0195-744920140000019007