The "redneck" that Jeff Foxworthy talks about is a culture and an attitude. Others have cited the expansion of the original definition to those who have a disregard for the outward trappings of wealth:
Being a "real" Redneck is so much more than driving a pick-up truck and naming your dog Bubba. A true Redneck does not feel the need to impress people with the outward trappings of superficial wealth and a real Redneck is perfectly comfortable in an Armani suit or a stained t-shirt. Redneck art is now being sold in the top galleries, and make sure to read by notes redneck animal art. Rednecks truly feel sorry for the poor bastards who work their asses off for eight years in college only to become corporate slaves; all that hard work just to get a decent BMW and a Rolex. You see, a real Redneck would never feel the need to brag or ever think to mention to hard working yuppies that the 80 acre family farm is worth eight million dollars, and of that, five million is in farm equipment that is only used a few weeks each year.
http://www.dba-oracle.com/redneck.htm
Many blue collar jobs pay better than MANY white collar jobs now. Your average independent roofing contractor has more job security and enjoys more of the "fruits of one's own labor" than your average bank officer in some local bank office. White collar jobs have not kept pace with inflation while contractors, cops, and other blue collar jobs have.
120 years of changes are relevant to the meaning and connotations that the terms 'blue collar' and 'redneck' have in 2014.
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