Americans have become lazy and it's hurting the economy

Even in the high tech cities of Silicon Valley, people have shut themselves off from other Americans who don’t have the same education and income levels. It’s why so many were shocked by the election of Donald Trump.

Related: Coal country’s message to Trump: We want jobs of the future
Cowen calls Trump’s election an attempt at a “great reset.” His book points out that white males earned less in 2015 than they did in 1969, once you adjust for inflation. He dubs it “one of the most stunning facts about contemporary America.”

“I think those people [in the Rust Belt] are smarter than the coastal elites have been. They actually see the problem pretty clearly,” he argues.

But he thinks Trump is going to be a big disappointment.

“I sometimes call Trump the ‘placebo president,'” Cowen says. “For all the talk about change, so far he’s shown he can’t get anything done.”